


To The Horizon

by dreamcastaway



Category: Eternal Arcadia | Skies of Arcadia
Genre: 'Expanded Lore', 'Expanding The Skies Of Arcadia' Collection, Adventure, Crewmates Get Moments To Shine, I Want Readers To Feel Excited!, Light Romance, Limited Canon Divergence, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Novelization, Polyamory, Side Stories!, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 93,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamcastaway/pseuds/dreamcastaway
Summary: The age of exploration has dawned upon the world of Arcadia but not all is well. The skies have darkened as Valua’s war engines expand outwards. Cannons roar and flags of conquest flutter in the wind. In spite of this, brave adventurers set sail across the vast skies in search of untold treasure. And where there is treasure, there will be Air Pirates.This is the story of two rogues and the mysterious girl they meet on their adventures.
Relationships: Doc/Ilchymis, Enrique/Moegi, Gilder/Clara, Hans/Urala, Kirala/Merida, Mabel/Luke, Vyse/Aika/Fina
Comments: 22
Kudos: 43
Collections: Expanding The Skies Of Arcadia





	1. Filling In The Map

# Foreword

### Filling In The Map

I was eleven years old when I first played Skies of Arcadia. It was a bright and powerful story that instilled valuable lessons into my heart. Be audacious, seek out new experiences, question authority, and always respect the world around you. When I first finished the game and the credits rolled, I rushed up from my basement haunt, eyes tear-filled, and made a vain attempt to explain to my mother that I had experienced something special. Eleven year olds not having much world experience, I am sure this sounded absurd. Yet good art speaks beyond our ages and pours itself directly into our souls. I hadn’t traveled the world like Vyse but I still somehow felt like a globe-trotter. I grew alongside him. I was enraptured; drawn into a sense of adventure and excitement that I’ve rarely felt again. An ember sparked in me which has never dulled. Whatever weariness the world has etched into me in the passing decades evaporates whenever I see a picture of Vyse or hear the light swirling strings of the game’s title screen.

I have searched all my life for a word that captures the swelling in my heart during those moments. Of those at my disposal, I’ve settled for wonder. That’s what I feel. Skies of Arcadia made me wonder and made wonder as essential to my being as oxygen. Without it, I would not be the person I am today.

In the decades since that first playthrough, I’ve revisited Arcadia many times as a fan and as a journalist. I’ve had the privilege of speaking to the game’s creators and thanking them personally for their effect on my life. I’ve consumed manga, light-novels, musical remixes and audio-dramas. I have analyzed and assessed, often professionally, how the game works. Skies of Arcadia is many things, and fans have been fortunate enough to see the story exist in a variety of formats that bring the world to life in different ways. Arcadia is a world with many points of contact.

We’re long beyond any hope of SEGA offering an official novelization, and while there've been plenty of Fan Fiction attempts it seems that many were left incomplete. I believe new works and variations are running right now and I hope they reach the finish line. It’s with a cocky grin and some presumption that I’ve decided to make my own attempt as well. There’s been a yearning in my heart for years, a desire to return to this world in a more comprehensive fashion. This is one of many ongoing projects that I hope will assuage my nostalgia.

There are some novelization attempts that I am familiar with such as the incomplete “Eternal Arcadia” by Pegasus Knight. It seems some vocabulary from that work (chiefly some names) have become commonly accepted in many others works via community acclamation. For instance, calling the Mid Ocean region ‘Meridia’ which I think started there. I will sometimes use those terms though quite rarely. I know there is another novelization happening at the moment: "Between Three Rogues" by Erico. Though as I understand it, that project is meant as a very particular take on the story with more explicit romantic expansions. I want to do something more traditional and closer to the former. There's probably others that I'm missing. More than anything else what I wish to inherit most from "Eternal Arcadia" and the other attempts I’ve seen over the years is a commitment to expanding Arcadia beyond what is present in the games. I imagine there will inevitably be similarities among all of these novelizations. I want to avoid that as much as possible even if all these works are based on the same script and basic story.

We’re all working from the same map; I want to fill it in more.

My intention is a faithful recreation of the source material's main story with additional scenes, perspective changes, and moments for other characters to shine. The scope of these expansions will grow as I am able to move out of the story's early chapters. You may have noticed that I've listed Vyse, Aika, and Fina as the main relationship pairing. That's the plan along with some side pairings and I'm excited for it but this isn't really a romance-focused work. It’s unclear to me how much Legends material I will incorporate into this work. I enjoy Legends but it seems to me that featuring too much of that content could affect pacing. It’s my job as a writer to figure that out even as I juggle crewmember stories, world-building, and additional scenes. We’ll see how that goes. Be aware I do have some very serious professional obligations that will invariably affect my ability to update rapidly but also please know that I do intend to write a full and complete work.

I want to leave some warmth on the page. A piece of the ember that was sparked in my heart years ago. These characters are dear to me and they are presumably also dear to you if you are reading this. I hope to capture why that might be and draw you into a world where heroes are real and good always prevails. A world where you are free to wonder once again.


	2. Here Be Dragons

The age of exploration has dawned upon the world of Arcadia. Its disparate landmasses, islands held in wondrous stasis within a sea of clouds, were once thought solitary. Men and women were born on small rocks and died on those small rocks. The sky was untamed and unknowable. How could mankind dare venture upon the realm of soaring birds and streaming fish?  
  
The answer came from the Moons themselves. Each of the six known Moons cast its glow upon the lands below and granted their blessing. Rocks charged with the elemental magicks of their mother Moons fell from above. These were the first moonstones, whose unique properties sent humanity into a rapid age of development and growth. The crimson stones of the Red Moon brought warmth, heating hearth and home. The galvanized rocks from the Yellow Moon held a spark that brought industry. The shining gems from the Green Moon held the secret songs of healing and granted mankind resilience. Chilled stones of the Purple Moon brought the powers of ice and illusion. Churning shards of the Blue Moon unlocked the mercurial potential of the wind and gave birth to alchemical wonders. The mysterious fragments of the Silver Moon held sway over life and death, extending mortals’ lives.

Their collective energies helped tame the sky itself. It started with rafts and other meager vessels, and has grown over the ages into galleons, frigates, and clippers. Sails unfurled, these ships soar like the sky leviathans of legend. Fishing vessels bob on clouds in search of the best catch; merchants glide from port to port. The world has been connected. The sky has become knowable. All an enterprising soul needs is a sail and some wind. Fortune is sure to follow in their wake.  
  
Not all is well. The Valua Empire, thriving under the electric light of the Yellow Moon, has grown arrogant. Nearly twenty years ago, the Empire made war upon its neighbors in a bid for land and resources. Its fanatic soldiers, under the command of Empress Theodora the First, yearn for renewed conquest.

Many maps in Arcadia bear a warning within the unknown margins: “Here be Dragons.” To merchants and explorers, it is a warning. To Valua, it is a challenge. If dragons exist, it is only right that the Empire claim and command them.

The skies have darkened as Valua’s war engines expand outwards. Cannons roar and flags of conquest flutter in the wind. In spite of this, brave adventurers set sail across the vast skies in search of untold treasure. And where there is treasure, there will be Air Pirates. 

These adventurous souls answer to no authority but their own hearts and set off into the clouds chasing wealth and glory. The merciless, calling themselves Black Pirates, fly a sable standard and steal indiscriminately from anyone they happen upon. 

Those possessed of a more chivalrous soul wave blue flags and seek to pillage from the rich and powerful. They are the Blue Rogues, unlikely champions against Valua’s gross expansion. Where tyranny reigns, they do little but laugh and ready their boarding parties.

So it is that a Blue Rogue crew chances upon a Valuan flagship in the dead of night. They seek fame and fortune. What they find will alter the balance of history.


	3. Shooting Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange craft drifts through the Mid Ocean. The Valuan Armada is in pursuit. Only the most unlikely of heroes can disrupt the empire's plans.

A cool air blew through the Mid Ocean. It churned the clouds and listed them slowly through the night sky. 

A night sky that Fina had never seen before in her life.  
  
Her ship, a compact craft whose alloyed frame shimmered in the Silver Moon’s light, pressed onwards through the deep ultramarine pitch. Wispy flakes of magical energy streamed in its wake, leaving a trail of brilliance as it advanced as if a fleet of fireflies had formed into a smattered blaze. In that moment, she looked at the sky and felt the wind so keenly as to be overwhelmed. Her silken blonde hair fluttered in the breeze. 

_I made it…_  
  
The young woman held firm to that truth and the momentary solace it brought. The comfort came and went in a flash, replaced with a dawning realization of the burden she now faced. There was work to be done—so much work—and it had fallen on her lone shoulders to complete it. The sky’s beauty faded and revealed something else entirely: a boundless and unfamiliar depth that threatened to swallow her whole. She took a breath and looked forward, her ship trailing further into the night. 

Little did she know that she was being followed.

* * *

The _Cygnus_ roze upwards shoving through a lower billowing of clouds to pursue its prey. The Valuan flagship’s engines gave a powerful groan that scraped through the firmament. Ostentatious by any estimation, the _Cygnus_ was both one of the Armada’s crown jewels and its biggest indulgence. Steel-clad with cannons arrayed along the hull, it gleamed like an immaculately maintained trophy. Which, in truth, it was. As if to boast of its magnificence, choice sections bore an additional layer of hardened armor mixed with actual gold and specks of moonstone. It was too perfect of a ship, commanded by too pompous an admiral.  
  
Upon the bridge, Alfonso grinned. His smile was a sickening display as perfectly white and immaculate as the _Cygnus_ itself. Rising from his velvet captain’s chair, he leaned upon a railing separating his perch from the crew below him. To call Alfonso foppish would be an understatement. The young man’s white coat was adorned with braided satin accents, the effect almost giving his cornsilk hair a run for the money in the brightness department. His gloved hand raised idly to brush the yellow ribbons draped upon his shoulder pauldron. They were the mark of his admiralty and his fingers lingered upon them as it to remind himself of his station. It was a nervous motion and one that he dismissed as soon as he realized what he was doing. Nobility led by example and Admiral Alfonso finally had a chance to show his all-too-common crew what it meant to be blessed with such a splendid burden.  
  
“We’ve finally found her,” he said, alto voice lilting upwards. It was all he could do to hide his eagerness as he looked through the bow windows at a curious silver craft leaving a trail of light behind it. “It seems that Galcian’s lap dog was right about something after all..”  
  
“Indeed, my lord,” Vice-Captain Salguero intoned at his side. The older man’s voice slipped between the slits of his alabaster helmet. “She’ll be in range of our cannons shortly.”

Alfonso was not a patient man. Who needed patience when you had servants to handle your every demand immediately? He deigned to wait a few seconds only. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.  
  
“Fire.”  
  
At his word, the _Cygnus’_ forward cannons burst into life with a thunderous clamour. They belched fire and smoke, sending artillery streaking towards the strange craft. The shells lobbed up through the air until they exploded directly besides their target. The silver craft shook and began to smoke. It slowly lost altitude as its once remarkable speed dragged into a plaintive limp. Within seconds, it hovered dead in the sky.  
  
“Hit!” A straightforward confirmation from the gunnery captain. Alfonso grinned once more.  
  
“Excellent,” he crooned. “Prepare a strike team. Board the vessel and secure the target. The Empress will be very pleased.”  
  
The crew leapt to their task. Vice-Captain Salguero saluted before departing to oversee the operation. Alfonso exhaled and sank into the captain’s chair. With a lazy curl of his fingers, he signaled for refreshment. A tea service was brought to his side rapidly. He offered no acknowledgement to the servants. You didn’t thank a rock for being a rock. Why thank your lessers for doing as they were told?  
  
Recovering the woman took little time. He was not halfway through his cup when Vice-Captain Salguero returned. Alfonso raised a haughty eyebrow. “Well?”  
  
“It’s done, my lord,” Salguero confirmed. “The pilot was unconscious. It’s the girl, as expected.”  
  
_So he was right about that as well.._ _  
_ _  
_ Alfonso dismissed his thought. His mouth curled in a cruel twist. “I'm sure to be rewarded for this.”  
  
“Shall I bring her to you, my lord?”  
  
“That won’t be necessary,” he said, before sipping at his tea. “It’s not like she’s going anywhere. We’ve all the time in the world.”  
  
A new thought slithered into his mind, sickly sweet in its satisfaction: _Nothing can stop me now._

* * *

“They’re chasing a shooting star!”

Ben had all but shouted it when he entered the house. The lookout took his job seriously and his voice rang with a mixture of alarm and excitement. He didn’t even knock first.  
  
Vyse staggered from his bed and quickly slipped on a pair of black trousers and an equally dark shirt. He shook his shaggy brown hair into a somewhat more manageable shape before padding over to look down at his crewmate from the loft above. The moon’s light snaked through the door and lit up the entire house. His father was already grabbing his gear. Vest, boots, pistols, cigar. All the essentials.

“Explain.”

Victor Dyne had been a Blue Rogue for over two decades. By any measure that was two decades more than plenty of sailors. His reputation preceded him and marked him as one of the most prominent pirates of the Mid Ocean. ‘Dyne of the Blue Storm.’ Dreaded by Valuans and Black Rogues, beloved by his crew and the everyman. He was a man truly worthy of the title “captain.” With a sliver of annoyance he ran a hand through his brown hair, which was touched with the slightest amount of encroaching grey. Whatever Ben had to report was serious enough for him to barge into his home.  
  
Realizing his faux-pas, Ben stood up straight. “Captain! Sir, it’s a ship. A Vaulan warship. Can’t be more than just short of a league away. It’s alone, sir, and chasing… something.”  
  
Vyse started to follow his father’s lead, scooping his favorite blue tunic from the floor, pulling it on, and tying a red scarf about his neck. He looked down again. “Alone? This far out into Mid Ocean?”  
  
Dyne glanced at his son. His hand raised to silence him. Not harsh but firm. A curious eyebrow raised as he regarded Ben. “What are we dealing with?”  
  
“First fleet, sir. Slyth-class. Hull golden as the treasures she’s like to bear.”  
  
There was a pause as both Vyse and his father realized what that meant. The two flashed devilish grins at each other. It was like two mirror images, each regarding the other. Only time and experience separated the two.

“Admiral Alfonso,” they spoke in unison. 

“I know that grin,” a playful voice chimed from further back in the room. Vyse’s mother stepped into the moon’s light, a robe wrapped securely about her body. Her tired eyes flashed with bemusement.  
  
“Johanna,” Dyne replied with outstretched arms. For a pirate captain, he sounded like his hand was caught in the cookie jar. “It’s an admiral.”  
  
She replied with a short hum. “You’d best be off then, sailor,” she offered warmly. You didn’t marry a pirate without getting used to nightly raids. Still, she looked at him with stern eyes. “And you best return.”  
  
Dyne nodded. If there was one person he’d take orders from, it was his wife. 

“We’ll bleed them dry and be back before breakfast.” He reached out and kissed her on the forehead before turning to give a firm nod to Ben. The lookout rushed out of the house. It wasn’t long before alarm bells clanged throughout the village.  
  
Vyse buckled his brown leather boots and leapt down from the loft. “Relax,” he told his mother. “This isn’t our first raid.”  
  
Johanna Dyne shook a powerful mother’s finger in reply. “But it could be the last!”  
  
His father agreed. “Never underestimate the enemy,” he added before turning to walk out the doorway.  
  
Vyse rushed to gather his weapons: two reliable cutlasses whose blue moonstone blades shone in the moonlight. Taking them in his hands, the young man couldn’t help but bob with excitement. His mother laughed as she walked back towards the bed.

“Go on then,” she said. “Misbehave.”

* * *

Vyse rushed out into the village. Doors shot open and sailors scurried, grabbing necessities and saying goodbye to their families. To the untrained eye, it might’ve looked like chaos, but no pirate crew sailed off without firm and well-practiced procedures. Some gathered weapons and spare moonstones, others were already rushing down to the port. A well-built man with reddish hair, only somewhat older than Vyse, slipped by the young man and clapped one of his shoulders.  
  
“Another night, another prize!” It was Luke, one of his fellow raiders. Their crew was split into a series of smaller teams, each responsible for striking their target from a different angle. Vyse and his partner took the aft; Luke and Mabel took the fore. Dyne and vice-captain Briggs lead a contingent amidship.  
  
Vyse chuckled. “I’ll race you to the holds!” Luke flicked a casual salute and ran off into the night. Vyse took a moment to look around. His eyes scanned the hustle and bustle for his own partner. Where was she?

His father’s booming voice brought him back to attention. Dyne stood tall in the moonlight, guiding his crew like a master conductor. A lit cigar was held loose in one hand.

“Make fast,” he shouted. “Tonight’s like nothing you lot have seen! There’s a fine catch on the menu: fresh Valuan admiralty! So step to it!”

Laughter and cheering rose up in response. Footfalls increased pace until the crew had all managed to rush to the port below. It had taken a handful of minutes at most, but Dyne and the crew of the _Albatross_ were ready to head out. The venerable brigantine sailed off into the sea of clouds. It was an old ship possessed of a picturesque beauty, The sort of vessel anyone would think of at the word “pirate.” Five full sails caught the wind and a collection of automated fins rowed at the bottom of the hull. The frame was reliable Meridian wood, fortified with fine iron and affixed with armor at choice locations along the body. 

Any Blue Rogue alive knew that looks were deceptive and so it was with the _Albatross_ . The powerful rotors of a Valuan airship spun with an intensity that suggested greater speed. _Let them think themselves faster,’_ Dyne would always boast. The _Albatross_ was not the fastest Blue Rogue vessel—that superlative belonged to some cocksure bastard in the Northern Frontier—but it was more than fast enough to catch Valuan prey. That was clear as the ship cruised further into the night. It took little time to catch up to the admiral’s gaudy vessel. Doubly so owing to the flagship’s flamboyant and heavy armor. 

To avoid detection, the _Albatross_ flew high into the cloud layer. It streamed further and further until it lurked above its Valuan prey like a vulture. At Dyne’s signal, the deck erupted into action. One by one, the crew fell into their positions.  
  
Vyse watched it all from the crow’s nest. At this height, he felt as close to the sky as possible. Was this what it felt like to be a bird? To never be constrained? To go wherever you wanted until you were far beyond the horizon? It was hard to know for sure. All Vyse knew was that there was no place in the world where his life made more sense than here. He fished into his pocket and slipped a lone goggle over his right eye that one could easily mistake for an eyepatch. His hand came to its side and gave a tiny mechanism a flick. His vision zoomed down below like he was peering through a telescope. Scanning the Valuan flagship, he took stock of its stern deck. That would be his landing point. 

He flicked the goggle back to its default and looked down at the _Albatross_ ’ deck. His eyes began to scan once again for his partner, but there was neither hide nor hair to be seen. 

A flicker of motion caught his eye; his father was waving upwards. It was time. His hand traced a small scar on his left cheek right beneath his eye. He’d received it during a botched rescue attempt on a burning frigate when he was ten. Would he add another to his face tonight?

“Hooks!” Captain Dyne’s voice rang loud. It was enough to cut through whipping wind and the nearby roaring of their prey’s rotary engines. 

The _Albatross_ lowered until it was directly beside the Valuan vessel and the crew gathered on the starboard with grappling hooks at the ready. A stream of ropes flew out and one by one; the hooks latched onto their target. They pulled taut as the _Albatross_ rose just enough to bring them to an angle. 

That was all Vyse needed. Cutlasses in hand, he hopped onto the crow’s nest railings and jumped.  
  
He was falling. He was flying.

The young rogue arced downwards through the air and grinned all the while. His heart leapt—not with fear but excitement. Though a single mistake would lead to a graceless plummet into the endless sky, he worried for nothing. He was born for this sort of gallantry. It was the first rule of being a Blue Rogue: always be audacious. For Vyse, leaping into danger was as natural and necessary as breathing. 

Vyse continued to fall, holding his cutlasses above him. Eventually, there was a snag of resistance as their cross-guards caught against one of the hooked ropes. Holding tight, the young rogue began to ride down the length until he reached the Valuan ship’s deck. He tucked into a roll as he landed and came to a kneeling stop. He raised his head and discovered that he was not alone. Five Valuan soldiers, clad in their peculiar iron armor and beaked helmets stared at him. Their armor featured pine green touches and pointed armet helmets. They turned with swords in hand.  
  
“Hey there,” Vyse said, rising deliberately to his feet. “Bit far from home, ain’tcha?”  
  
“¡Alto ahí!” One of the soldiers stepped forward. Insignia on his chest marked him as sergeant.Vyse raised his cutlasses in response. The Valuans raised their swords. Their ranking officer spoke once more; this time in common tongue. “Air pirate dog! Don’t you realize who you’re attacking? This is a ship of the Valuan Empire!”  
  
Vyse feigned shock for a moment before rolling his eyes. “Of course I know,” he said. “Why do you think we attacked? You guys have the best stuff!”  
  
His posture lowered like a feralisk ready to pounce. “I'm Vyse of the Blue Rogues,” he greeted with a smile. “And in a few minutes, I'll be relieving you of all your valuables!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My special thanks to Caseo, who has already become something of a confidante for this project. My additional thanks to the friends I have who offered early feedback and even spot edits. This is only the start of a larger story but I hope it captures you attention and helps your heart soar as if you were playing the game once again.


	4. Clap Of Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The air pirate's raid upon the Cygnus rages on even as Admiral Alfonso deserts his crew. What is he so eager to hide and can Vyse (and Aika!) stop the cowardly nobleman before he escapes?

A tin can-touched laugh rang upon the Cygnus’ deck. The ranking officer’s cackles reverberated within his helmet until the rest of his comrades joined him in a thuggish chorus. Vyse kept his cutlasses held high. The right blade was raised to meet in a cross with his other blade’s edge; that lefthand cutlass was held in a reverse defensive grip with his hand on the crossguard. Vyse’s first experiences boarding ships had been in rescue and salvage operations when he was young. He joined the more serious raids around the age of fourteen. He was seventeen now. Three years wasn’t much, but it was more than enough time to find a fighting style that worked for him. More than enough time to turn a boy into a proper raider. 

The Valuans seemed to think he wasn’t a threat. Big mistake, he thought.

“You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid,” the Valuan said. Vyse tilted his head as if to suggest both. The soldier turned to one of his companions. “Toss him overboard.” 

The second soldier lurched forward and made a downwards slash at the foolish pirate before him. Vyse snapped up to meet the strike with ease, his left cutlass’ blade bracing against the strike. With a forceful push of his forearm, he batted the soldier’s blade aside before bringing the butt of his other weapon down upon the man’s head. The Valuan staggered back comically. A colorful stream of invectives, all in his mother tongue, streamed from beneath his helmet. Vyse resumed his stance and made a sheepish grin.

“C’mon fellas,” he teased. “Can’t we just talk?”

“Not without me too!”

A young woman zipped down one of the Albatross’ grapple lines behind him, gave a swinging kick with her legs and dropped off with a remarkable bound. She landed at his back to face a pair of Valuans that had shifted to surround her partner. She had a lithe figure bordering on lanky which seemed to give off a cat-like impression. She was only somewhat shorter than Vyse but her fiery red hair, pulled into two large braids, made up for the difference. She wore a tunic dress the color of vibrant honey with shorts underneath and knee high boots upon her legs. Her ensemble was finished with a loose belt that held a supply pouch.

A hand reached up past her brown eyes and pulled a pair of goggles off her face. She left them resting atop her head. Winking at the Valuans before her, she brought up a large boomerang affixed with a green moonstone. As if to bait one of them into action, she twitched for a moment and was pleased to find that one of the soldiers flinched in reply. She cast her gaze back to Vyse. 

“You left without me,” she teased loudly. “I’m not going to let you have all the fun.”

“I left without you?” Vyse’s question shot back with all the energy of a child at play. “Where were you? Down in the holds fixing up your hair?”

His companion snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Happy to see you too, ya dork.” 

Vyse laughed. It was if the two had completely forgotten they were surrounded by bloodthirsty soldiers. “I said the thing already..”

His companion bounced upon her feet. “Oh! In that case, I’m Aika,” she said with a friendly wave at the Valuan troops. A playful finger darted between herself and Vyse. “And we’re robbing you!”

The soldiers encroached ever so slightly. Vyse smiled. “Ready?”

Aika nodded. “You know it.”

Vyse ducked and in that moment Aika tossed her boomerang in a masterful swirl that spun about the pair and forced the Valuans backwards. Rolling towards the nearest soldier, Vyse slipped a cutlass behind their leg and pulled. They clanged to the ground creating an opening in the surrounding circle that the two rogues rushed through. Aika reached up and snatched her swirling boomerang as they did. The pair wheeled about to face the Valuans head on as the fallen man heaved himself to his feet. It was a tableau worthy of the stage: pirates and prey. 

“Idiots,’ the Valuan officer scoffed. “Do you really think you can take on all five of us?”

A shot rang out. A sharp cracking scrape slithered across the deck as a pistol round collided with the officer’s armet. There was a minute sparking as the bullet broke through his armor. The officer went stiff before crumpling to the ground like a marionette whose strings were cut. 

“You miscounted. I see four of you.” Captain Dyne stepped forward towards the group, flanked by Vice-Captain Briggs and a smattered phalanx of eager pirates. His pistol, the barrel still sizzling out smoke, was aimed firmly at the Valuans. The agents of the empire took a collective step backwards.

“Dad!” Vyse cried out in a mixture of surprise and exasperation. “We had it!”

“You’re wasting time,” his father replied. “Quit playing with your food; make your way to the bridge and shut off the engines.” He paused. “And when we’re out here? It’s ‘captain,’ not ‘dad.’ Got it?”

His son nodded seriously. “Aye, captain,” he said before looking at Aika. “Let’s introduce ourselves to their captain, shall we?”

“Don’t blink or you’ll miss me kicking his butt!” Aika ran off down the deck and Vyse quickly followed. Sword and shot cacophonied behind them as the captain and his men set upon the Valuans. 

  
Aika reached the entry hatch first. Her run had transformed into a slide that ended with her leaning on the adjacent wall. Vyse was not so far behind her although she couldn’t help but affect impatience as he approached. She tapped her feet like she’d been stood up by a suitor.

“I’d never leave you hanging, Spitfire,” Vyse said chipperly. It was a nickname from their youth that Vyse pulled out either in the most private or most serious moments. This was the latter.

“I know, Dreamer,” came her reply. Her voice softened ever so slightly with the words. A nickname for her ever-curious and imaginative friend. Dyne conferred both names during their childhood and the pair had held onto them ever since. The crew used them teasingly for a time but stopped after a while until the nicknames had changed into something more personal. Something idiosyncratic to them.

Vyse placed a hand on the door’s wheel. Aika drew in closer. Her hand dipped into her pouch and felt a small stone held within. The slightest hint of radiant warmth emanated off it. 

The two exchanged a knowing glance. Vyse reached out and quickly rotated the handle. With a mighty pull, he jerked the door open and rushed in. This was going to be fun.

* * *

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Alfonso’s curses blared only somewhat louder than the ship’s alarms. “How dare they? How dare anyone do this to me!?”

It wasn’t the first time that Vice-Captain Salguero had dealt with one of his master’s famous outbursts but it was the worst one he’d ever seen. The admiral stamped about the bridge as if his favorite toy had been stolen. The young man’s perfectly coiffed hair began to shag and fall about. Salguero might’ve laughed if he hadn’t known the admiral for so long. 

The Vice-Captain didn’t see anything funny. He was Alfonso's senior by many years. What he saw before him was a child and the sight, which should have robbed him of any faith in his commander instead stirred him to action. Salguero was many things. Perhaps most tragically, he was a man who believed in duty. 

“The topdeck is claimed,” he said firmly. A report and a warning. “You can’t stay here any longer.”

“I know that, you buffoon!” Alfonso’s insult reverberated through the bridge. “Come! We’re securing the girl! We can’t let them find her.” He pointed sharply at the remaining soldiers on the bridge. 

“Stop them,” he demanded petulantly. “I don’t care how you do it or what it takes. Hold this bridge. Skewer those pirates like swine! If you cannot, then you will die for your empress. You will die for me!”

They were hardly inspiring words but Alfonso spat them with such force that the soldiers snapped to attention. Perhaps they were simply appeasing their lord. Perhaps they held delusions of glory. Perhaps life had ground them down into little more than cogs in a terrible machine. Whatever the case, the tin-can soldiers seemed to accept Alfonso’s command. 

The Admiral wheeled upon his Vice-Captain. “With me!” 

At that, Alfonso spun about and scampered towards a nearby exit. His voice held no authority but there was fear. The pirates were on the prowl and if he wasn’t fast all would be lost.

* * *

Klaxons blared and red alarm lights spun as Vyse and Aika proceeded through the Cygnus’ hold. They had entered expecting a fight but were disappointed to find that it was largely empty. Scattered plates and trays tossed about the mess hall attested to a robust crew, and distant footfalls—hard boots clanking upon steel—teased of dangers around every corner but the pair found little resistance. It seemed that many of the Valuans had rushed up top to meet the raiders or else they had decided to flee. The idea was anathema to Vyse. Anyone who fled from a fight was a coward, which was worse than dying, and any crew that fled en masse worked for a captain that didn’t command respect. 

The pair ran upwards through tight stairwells and across high walkways until they stopped outside the entrance to the bridge. Vyse leaned close to the door and attempted to listen in, pressing his ear flat against the cool steel. Experience had told him that Valuan ships, even down to their smallest cruisers, held bustling bridges packed with obstinate soldiers who didn’t have the sense to surrender. That meant barking commands and other sounds that might carry even over alarms. He heard nothing. 

Aika gestured at the door firmly. She didn’t speak but her expression was pure mischief. 

Vyse pulled back and shrugged. Whatever was ahead, if anything at all, was unclear. There was excitement in that. One guard or one hundred; it didn’t really matter to him. He raised his fingers in a count. At three, he threw open the door and rushed inside with Aika in tow. 

For a moment, there seemed to be nothing at all. No captain and nary a guard in sight. There was little more than abandoned stations, a plush chair, and a large banner bearing a dark sigil. Two coiled dragons spun about each other, both reared in preparation to strike. Another flag rested nearby; the same dragon surround by multiple wings. It was the flag of the Valuan Armada which, for the moment, didn’t seem so mighty. Now if he could only find the...

“Dogs!” An accented cry warned Vyse of encroaching danger and the young man shifted backwards just in time to avoid the falling strike of a furious Valuan trooper. He swung the sword over and over as if Vyse was an annoying fly. Vyse responded, bringing his blades up in a cross block that snagged the soldier’s sword. All well and good if the man was alone.

A second trooper began to rush forward. Aika pressed to intercept. Her hand fished quickly into her pouch and withdrew to reveal the unmistakable glint of a red moonstone. She shrugged apologetically at the rushing guard. 

“I don’t think so!”

The stone brightened in her hand as—through force of will alone— she invoked the power of its mother moon. There was only a slight increase in heat before she snapped her hand down in a flourishing motion. The floor cracked before a modest wall of magical flame rose to block off the Valuan. The armor-clad soldier skidded to a stop before the fire, unsure of how to proceed. 

Vyse laughed, even as he began to press his own foe away with push and follow-up slash. “You’ve been practicing!”

That brought a wonderful giggle to Aika’s lips. “One of us has to!”

Magic was not anything so uncommon on Arcadia. It wasn’t something you found in small villages but even in the most modest Mid Ocean port towns there was usually someone who knew how to cast a spell or two provided they had the proper moonstone. A smith who could light the forge more easily or a street performer that could twirl a bit of wind about them. Stories held that greater magicks once suffused the world. Such advanced spells were exclusively the province of scholars and reclusive mages now. 

For some, however, the spark of magic seemed to come more easily. Aika had proven far more capable of spell-casting than Vyse. Not brilliant, but still fundamentally more talented than most. With training, she’d come to understand the basics of red magic. The magic of fire and fortitude.

Her strike had been a simple pyri spell. It was the lowest of offensive fire magics but against an unsuspecting Valuan it was a godsend. The Valuan Empire thought itself the pinnacle of both technological and magical might. A common soldier would never expect some stray air pirate to command even a touch of the elements.

The spell began to subside and the soldier took a step forward towards the sputtering fire. 

“Hey! Stay put!” Aika brought the stone to bear once more. She planted her feet firm and drew further upon its power. “Moons, give me strength!” 

The incantation seemed to bolster the stone’s radiance as she once again trapped the man behind a gust of fire. Assured of his security, Vyse continued his offensive rush at his own enemy. It had taken little effort to place the Valuan off guard; the officer now retreated backwards with each new strike. The young rogue swirled his cutalasses in a dervish until the Valuan’s grip weakened and his sword flew out of his grasp. Vyse brought his blades to the man’s throat and guided him to his knees. 

“Stand down,” the pirate commanded. His voice that held an authority well beyond his years. 

Aika approached her cornered prey, boomerang at the ready. “You too, hot stuff.” 

As the pyri spell began to fade again, the Valuan tossed his sword to the ground and raised his hand. Vyse’s captive spoke. “Mercy! Mercy!” 

The young raider blew a strand of brown hair from his face and grinned at the soldier. 

“Smart choice,” he said before nodding down to the ship's forward console. “Engine’s the lever on the right? Same as your gunboats?”

“Yes!”

In near unison both Vyse and Aika kicked the soldiers’ swords further away. He spoke up again in the same commanding voice as before. 

“Surrender to the boarding party or head to a lifeboat. I don’t care which. Don’t ever sail in our skies again.”

Both of the men nodded. Vyse and Aika kept their weapons at the ready. The soldiers began to rush away towards a side entrance. Aika raised her red moonstone up one last time and flourished it again. A small firecracker pop burst behind the men, who cried out and began to rush away even faster.

Vyse gave her a dry look. “Really?”

“You woulda done it too.”

He cocked his head in reply. “Got me there.”

Vyse turned and leapt over the railing separating the top half of the bridge from the helm and other stations. Aika followed. The pair stopped right next to a conspicuously large lever at a work station beside the ship’s wheel. Vyse slammed it down. The Cygnus groaned as its engines came to a sudden halt. 

“Did you even need to ask him?” Aika lifted a thumb back towards the door where the Valuan soldiers had fled. 

“Not really,” Vyse said cockily. “Valua ships iterate in some ways and stay the same in others. If I wanted to, I could probably helm the thing by myself.”

“What now?”

Vyse shrugged. “Well, we could always wait here.”

There was a beat of quiet that ended as the pair swiftly broke into laughter. Their eyes beamed with adventurous delight. They wouldn’t have been able to stay still if they wanted to. Neither Vyse nor Aika were built for that. 

Ever forward. Together. 

And there was only one thing better than claiming a Valuan ship’s bridge.

“We find the admiral,” Vyse said plainly. He scanned the room for any sign that could lead them in their chase. He craned his neck and found a chipped tea cup at the door opposite their entry point. They hadn’t found him on their approach. That left only one way to go. He pointed towards the exit. “There!”

Vyse hardly waited for Aika before bounding off towards the door and rushing through the connecting hall. Aika kept hot on his heel. It wasn’t long before the pair stumbled into a vast cargo hold. Iron-framed boxes rested in high-stacked rows. Fixtures flowing with yellow moonstone energy cast their electric light about the space. They had entered through one of several hatches. High catwalks criss-crossed above them. Two figures stalked on their perforated frames, crossing from a high entry point. An armored soldier with something draped over his shoulder… and an impeccably dressed man with cornsilk blonde hair. 

“Going somewhere?” Vyse called out to the figures with his hands cupped about his mouth. The blonde man froze. He stepped forward and a beam of moonstone-fixture light brought his soft face into focus. He bore the unmistakable sneer of a nobleman. Upon seeing Vyse and Aika, his countenance shifted into a contortion of consternation. 

“Abominable,” he spat at the rogues. “It is utter lunacy that you air pirates have infested my ship...”

“So it’s you,” Vyse intoned. “Alfonso.”

“Watch your mongrel tongue,” the nobleman demanded. “That’s Admiral Alfonso Aznar y Cabanas, lord of the Imperial Armada’s First Fleet, duke of Andri. Cherished son of Valua and confidant to her majesty Empress Teodora herself!” 

He drew closer to the catwalk’s railing as if to regard the pirates with an even crueler eye. “Consider yourself fortunate,” he lilted. “Lowlifes like you rarely have the opportunity to bask in such greatness!”

The armored figure at this side stepped forward into the light. Vyse quickly took in the characteristic armor and insignias of a ranking officer. A vice-captain. The subordinate snuck a cautious whisper to Alfonso and as he moved forward still, Vyse saw what he was holding. Strands of blonde hair so fine as to be nearly silver fell downwards. The soldier was holding a young woman. Vyse narrowed his eyes.

“Is that...” Aika seemed to have noticed as well. She lowered her hand furtively towards her pouch.

“I see her,” Vyse confirmed before locking his eyes on Alfonso. His disgust outmatched the nobleman’s detached arrogance. When he spoke, his voice was touched with a playful faux-disappointment that belied a very real anger. “Someone of your great stature stooping to kidnapping now? Who’s the girl?”

“My, you’re observant,” Alfonso crooned. With a fortuitous clamour, a squad of Valuan soldiers burst into the cargo hold. He grinned. 

“You’ll simply have to die in your ignorance,” he said before glaring at the troops. “Kill them!” 

The soldiers seemed to realize what they’d stumbled into and raised their swords. Vyse and Aika fell into their familiar stances and prepared to strike back when another door swung open. 

Two figures rushed into the room; it was Luke and his raiding partner Mabel. The red-haired man held a saber in his hand while his brunette partner brandished two larger daggers carved from blue moonstone. They blinked in surprise. For their own part, the Valuan soldiers paused in confusion as well. 

Vyse grinned sheepishly at his fellow raiders. “Beat you to the cargo hold!”

Luke stepped closer to the soldiers. “Brag about it, why don’t you?”

“S’been a change of plans,” Vyse looked towards Luke and Mabel seriously. His voice took on the unmistakable weight of command once more. “Me and Aika are going after the admiral! You two take these clowns!”

One of the soldiers shook in anger. “We’re not letting yo-” He was interrupted as a blue moonstone dagger soared into his collarbone. The Valuan fell bleeding to the floor.

Mabel feigned shock. “Butterfingers!” Her now-empty hand pulled her bandana tighter which brought loose danglings of hair away from her eyes. It would be a shame to have her hair swishing about in a brawl.

The room exploded into action as the soldiers rushed at the pirates. Luke and Mabel hurried into the fray to intercept the lot. Turning towards a nearby stairway, Vyse and Aika made to chase after Alfonso. Aika’s boomerang flew out to clatter against an obstructing soldier who reeled in place until Vyse caught him with a rushing kick to the chin of his helmet. 

“Go! Go!” Luke called behind them as steel clashed. Vyse offered his comrades a quick salute as he rushed with Aika upwards and upwards in pursuit of the craven nobleman and his mysterious captive.

* * *

Alfonso’s rage had turned into a bitter simmer as he and Vice-Captain Salguero entered the lifeboat bay. A single craft remained: a sturdy open lifeboat large enough to hold a handful of people at most. Alfonso placed a gloved hand upon its hull and exhaled.

“If they want my ship so badly, they can have it,” he said. “I’ll get another.” 

Alfonso was sure of one thing in life: if he wanted it, he would get it. Either through the fortunate influence afforded to a man of his station or through other less savory means. Vice-Captain Salguero opened the bay doors. They cranked down, gears churning into place until the boat launch was clear. Wind whipped into the bay and the cool, inviting blue skies of morning cast their burgeoning sunlight throughout. 

“Your Excellency, the sun is up and visibility is good.” Salguero punched in a sequence of commands at a nearby console. A mechanized crane began to move the lifeboat into position.

Alfonso quietly pulled his rapier from its sheath, bringing its yellow moonstone tip upwards and flicking it with his fingers. “How long have you served me, Salguero?”

“Since before your father’s death, my lord. Since you were but a child growing into a man.”

“Ah, yes, my father,” Alfonso’s tone drifted off to a dark and suggestive remembrance. “It was.. such a shame how he died. Pity they never found the assassins..” 

The nobleman’s voice dripped with overly affected sympathy. Salguero paused for a moment before striking a final command on the console. “Preparations are complete, Your Excellency.”

Alfonso sauntered towards his subordinate, rapier still in hand. “Good. And I’ve finished my own preparations… for disposing of the traitor who delivered us to the Blue Rogues.”

Salguero spun about only to find Alfonso’s rapier pressing against an exposed portion of his throat right between the folds of his chestplate and armet. “What? Your Excellency… Alfonso.. What are you doing?”

The nobleman sneered. “I cannot tell the Empress that I lost my ship to Air Pirates in a fair fight,” he explained. “I am going to need a scapegoat, a dastardly saboteur who undid my gallant efforts... and you'll do quite nicely. To keep my glorious reputation from being tarnished, you must be sacrificed…”

“You can't,” Salguero pleaded. “I have served your family, served you with honor and distinction!”

Alfonso scoffed. It was the role of those beneath him to prop him up and lift him higher no matter the cost. With a callous stab, he slipped his rapier into Salguero’s neck.

“Don’t worry. Even in death, you can serve me well.”

The aged soldier brought his hands up in a futile attempt to staunch the bleeding. His own sword clattered to the floor. Alfonso pushed him further down the launch's edge and shoved him. Vice-Captain Salguero fell into the clouds below, bloodied and confused. If he was lucky he could black out before falling beneath the lower cloud layer into the depths of the unknown darkness below. 

Alfonso sheathed his blade and practiced a contrite explanation. "But Empress, my own Vice Captain betrayed us and allowed the Air Pirates on board,” he said while bringing a dramatic hand to his chest. “I could do naught but dispose of the traitor myself."

“So, this is how Valua treats its people…” 

Alfonso reared about and gasped as the blue-tunic’d pirate from before, along with his fiery companion, stepped into view. 

“What? How did you defeat my soldiers?”

“Unlike you,” Aika noted with a sharp jab of her finger. “We have friends.”

“Now that we've taken control of your ship,” Vyse began sternly. “We'll be taking the girl as well. There's just one more thing I need to do…” The young pirate drew his blades.

“After seeing you kill a helpless man in cold blood, I can’t allow you to walk away. Draw your blade, Alfonso!”

The callous admiral laughed. It tittered off into a feeble “ho, ho, ho.” His gaze turned dark. 

“A rogue such as yourself wants to challenge me? You’re not even worth my effort. But perhaps you’d like to meet my pet. A beast fit for a beast.” 

He reached into his breast pocket and produced a whistle. He brought it to his delicate lips and blew a high frequency whine. “Come! Antonio!”

Aika gave a confused look at Vyse, who shrugged in return. He certainly didn’t know what the hell an Antonio was.

The answer arrived as a massive creature bashed through an adjoining set of doors. A snarling four-legged beast clopped into the bay. His sloopy face, capped with beady black eyes, was covered in an armor plating so complete that it also protected a massive horn on his forehead. Higher, upon what anyone might call the creature’s shoulders, two more massive bone horns extruded outward. It seemed that Antonio was a Valuan kantor bull; although this particular beast seemed far more dangerous. There was plating on his back and his flank. There were even portions of armor covering the manus above his hooves. The bull reared up with a chilling roar.

"What is that thing?!” Vyse knew what a kantor bull was but its presence on the Cygnus seemed baffling.

“He's my personal war beast,” Alfonso explained. "I was going to leave him here but it seems I've found a use for him after all. Antonio! Trample the pests!” 

The bull had already begun a breakneck charge towards Vyse, who rolled out of the way within a nick of time and watched Antonio crash into a stack of nearby supplies and shatter their crates into countless splinters.

“Aika! Distraction!” 

“On it.” Her boomerang flew out first and smashed against a piece of metal shielding fastened to one of his high shoulders. It cracked against a fastener chain that shattered. An iron armor slab slammed to the floor. There was no time to celebrate yet; Aika continued her assault by brandishing her red moonstone and snapping an eruption of pyri spells about the creature. He bucked and railed. 

That was enough of an opening for Vyse. The young pirate rushed in as Antonio’s black eyes fastened on Aika. The kantor bull wasn’t particularly impressed and began to scrape the ground in preparation of another charge. 

“Not a lot of time, Vyse!” Aika’s voice held the barest hint of worry. She’d do her part no matter what; even if that meant facing down some freak Valuan death bull.

“One second!” As Vyse reached the bull, he leapt on its side and clambered up. His climb was a bloody one, strike after strike sliding into the creases of Antonio's strange armor and digging deep into his muscle. Eventually the beast had enough. he bristled and bucked furiously until a yellowish glow began to gather about him. It was more prominent about his horns but seemed to coat and emboss his body as electric energy burst outwards and into the metallic armor he wore. 

Vyse felt a snapping in his body as lighting shot through his body and launched him off. He landed in a smoking heap, propping himself up with his cutlasses. 

Whether through experimentation or simply basking in the Yellow Moon’s light, Antonio was no ordinary kantor. Vyse rose to his feet defiantly. 

“You think I’m going down that easy?” A question more to Alfonso wherever he had slithered off to. “I don’t think so!”

Aika grinned in relief. Her eyes darted about the room to find any sort of advantage. It took but a second before she spotted the fallen Vice-Captain’s sword. Metallic. Steel. She didn’t fully understand yellow magic or electricity well but she knew enough that it was drawn to metal. She ran to pick it up but not before calling out to Vyse. 

“Stone!” She cried, hurling her red moonstone to her best friend. 

Vyse caught it easily. Running the shard beside his moonstone blades, he watched as their soothing blue began to shift into a translucent red. He was not the most talented with magic but that didn't mean a moonstone held no use. A slash from these newly-reddened blades could, with enough focus, cut with intense heat. 

The two rogues looked at Antonio, who once again began to rear and charge his lightning. As the blast came, Aika hurled the Vice-Captain’s sword into the path of Antonio’s magic. The arcing lighting swirled and zapped into the blade. It absorbed the magical strike with a clap of thunder. 

The bull might’ve made another attempt or else charged towards his prey but it was too late. Vyse sprinted at Antonio, leaping high into a slash that came down right upon the exposed flesh of its neck. Scorching heat and sharp moonstone slid Vyse’s cutlass deeper until a spout of blood was drawn. 

Antonio flailed but it took all but a moment for him to tire and sink to the floor. He breathed heavy for a time before his dark eyes closed. The bull was no more. 

Vyse grinned. Adrenaline burned through his body. He took a breath and regarded his friend. “See? That was easy!”

Aika scoffed. “Sure, the giant lighting hog fight was a breeze…”

Alfonso’s head popped up from cover in the lifeboat.

“Hmph! Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye,” he said regarding them once more. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Vyse!”

“I’m Aika.”

“And we’re the Blue Rogues who beat you!” Vyse finished boldly.

Alfonso took stock of the two. “Vyse and Aika,” he repeated. “You will rue the day you stood against the Valuan Empire.”

He slammed a button on the lifeboat’s console. The vessel lurched forward and careened into the morning sky. 

“Coward!” Aika yelled back at Alfonso but it was clear he was too far away to hear. She took a breath. “Well, even if he was a coward… he was a coward with gold.”

Vyse nodded. He’d since reached into a loose pocket to find a small glass-like triangle that held a faint green shimmer. A sacri crystal, a disposable wonder that held a spark of the Green Moon’s regenerative powers. He clamped his hand shut and shattered it. A swirling of cool green phosphor spun about him and he immediately felt the pain from Antonio’s lightning magic begin to fade. Idly, he tossed the red moonstone back to Aika.

“I suppose the ship is ours,” he said. “And everything on it.”

“We haven’t had a catch this big in… well, maybe ever,” Aika noted. “Folks’ll be impressed for sure.”

“That’s not what I really care about...”

Alfonso’s captive lay unconscious on the bay floor. A girl that was Vyse’s age or perhaps slightly younger, with hair near silver-blonde that framed a soft face with pale features. Her forehead bore a strange tattoo unlike anything he’d ever seen before, but more curious was the transparent veil upon her head. It gave the impression of a priestess or something even more important. Large blue earrings dangled from her ears, made of a strange polished material that was similar to gemstones but unlike anything he’d seen before. 

She wore a white sleeveless dress marked with strange patterns that held meanings he didn’t understand but somehow filled him with a strange nostalgia. What sleeves she wore were slipped on separately from the dress and left the upper skin upon her arms exposed. The dress clung to her petite form and left little to the imagination. It might’ve been made of silk, but he’d never seen silk as pure and spotless as what she wore. Slits at the side revealed pure white leggings made of a similar material. The front of her dress bore a strange triangular cut out that teased the barest glance of her features underneath. 

Vyse blushed as he examined her further but quickly moved on to regard the rest of her dress. It had golden accents of fine material. One wrist held a stark silver bracelet. 

He kneeled at her side and reached out for a moment but suddenly retracted his hand lest he somehow cause harm. She seemed so fragile and yet…

“Look at her,” he began in awe. “I’ve never seen anyone so.. So…”

“Beautiful?” Aika found the word for him. Vyse half-sputtered in embarrassment but his friend came to kneel beside him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. 

“Me either,” she said in a soft voice. “I’ve never seen anyone dressed like that before in my life.”

“She can’t be from around here,” he noted. “But why was Valua trying to kidnap someone like her?”

Aika stood up. “Questions for later,” she said. Vyse nodded once more, reaching down to scoop up the woman in a bridal carry.

“You're right. We need to get her back to the Albatross immediately. "Call me paranoid but it feels like things are a lot more complicated than we could have imagined..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm curious to know what people might feel about descriptions of combat and how magic/moonstones work. I want things to flow and hope they have. If you have details you wish were elucidated on or magical lore that you'd like to see expanded, let me know! This is a living work and I'm glad to listen to all readers thoughts!


	5. Silver Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caught between reality and the warm nostalgia of past days, Fina must push forward with her mission and accept that life is no longer what it was.

The world came into view as Fina opened her eyes. It was like watching the pieces of a stage-play set fall and snap into place. Unnatural, blunderous. Every new glance brought something else into view. A familiar peace swept over the young woman as her bedroom’s features locked into place. It was strange—a new detail seemed to fall into place wherever she looked—but it also felt natural. She first recognized argent walls etched with subtle veins of silver magic energy that slipped and flowed about from one feature to another. A small screen that buzzed and sparked until it showed a high atmosphere image of a world draped in clouds. A nearby shelf, which she had not noticed in her reverie protruded from the opposing wall. A vase with translucent aegean flowers rested flat upon it. Only a distance away, a worn-out doll sat drooping upon the shelf. She’d had it all her life; one of the only companions she’d ever really had.

Fina paced over and held the doll in her arms. She had been so young back then, the only girl of her age among her people, and now that she was older the time of plush dolls and crystal flowers seemed so distant. Yet, here she was In a sanctuary like none that history had ever known before.

“Am I.. home?” Her soft voice dared to ask the question. Was she back among her people? Was everything she’d endured a nightmare?

Two impulses tugged at her. Both were so painful as to break a lesser woman’s heart. She wanted to stay; to rest right here forever in the safety of her home. A more mature and intensely decent part of her knew that was not possible. But maybe...

As if to tempt her further, two spectral figures began to race about the room in an improvised game of tag. Diaphanous children yelped with joy as they ran around. A young girl in a simple robe scampered apace. Behind her, a slightly older boy shifted and gave a dramatic, stomping chase like he was a dangerous hound on the prowl. The girl screamed with playful delight.

The boy eventually managed to reach her and scooped her up into a hug that elicited a joyous yelp before he raised her up over his head and began swooping her around like a bird. Not that either of them had ever seen a bird outside of the images in the archives. He placed her back down on the ground. The girl ran and ran about the room once. Her flight grew faster and faster as the taller boy followed. He smiled warmly at her; even here within the shrine walls, she held an oddly adventurous spirit. Round and around and around. It hardly even mattered if she was being chased in earnest. It was enough to run and feel free.

The boy, feeling it time to fulfill his part in their pantomime, traced a loose finger in the air before him. A shimmering light followed in its wake until the beam seemed to split into a makeshift portal that he slipped into. The girl continued to run and laugh; she stopped only when the boy appeared before her in an unfurling of magical light as he emerged from a separate portal and hugged the girl in a tight embrace.

She swatted weakly at his side. “You said no magic,” she sniffed. “You said no magic!”

“You were running so fast, Fina, it was the only way I could catch you,” the boy said.

The girl crossed her arms. “I woulda got away!”

“I’ll always find you,” the boy said plainly. “Tag, hide and seek. It’s my job to look after you.”

The girl ambled over to the buzzing screen and its flickering view of the world below. She tapped the screen as if a firm enough push would take her through to the other side. “Even down there?”

The boy smiled. He stood tall and knelt before her dramatically. “Even down there.”

“The Elders say we can’t go there,” the girl said. “They say it's super scary and dangerous. Is that true? You’re smart, Rami.. Is it really like that?”

The young boy drew closer to the screen and regarded it closely. The world below was so far away. Yet his eyes lingered and he began to see… something, a fundamental truth he never realized before.

“It looks… hurt,” he said. 

The girl walked to his side. She tugged nervously at his sleeve. “Can we help it?”

“Maybe one day,” he admitted before offering her a brotherly smile. “Now, why don’t find a really sneaky spot this time? Bet I’ll find you easily!”

The girl ran off but stopped for a moment in front of Fina. Somehow, she had intruded upon the dreamworld and a young but deeply familiar face was looking at her.

“Do you want to play too? We could stay here forever and play and be happy!”

It would have been so easy to stay. Every single part of Fina’s heart was yearning to stay put and play childhood games, safe within the shrine’s iridescent walls. The burden she carried could melt until there was nothing left but the happy times of yesterday. Before they’d grown older. Before Rami left.

That world was gone now; any version of it that remained was a fantasy. Fina was sentimental but she was wise beyond her years. Wise enough to know that what her younger self offered was a falsehood. There was no true comfort to find here; only the illusory and fading trap of nostalgia.

Fina shook her head. Not in the face of nightmares, not in the face of the cruelest beasts, not in the face of her own doubts. Not even when tempted with the comforts of simpler times. She could not stay. There was nothing for her here; the ghostly images from before were little more than memory. Her people were counting on her. The world was counting on her.

The room trembled in anger around her. How dare she abandon this paradise? The vase and its aegean flowers tilted to the side and shattered into thousands of indescribably small silver splinters with all the body and coarseness of dust. Fina gasped, looking down at the doll in her hand as it seemed to similarly dissolve into the barest of pewter grains. Whatever comfort this room had held was lost forever as fixture after fixture dissolved into the Silver moonstone essences that upheld it. Soon there was nothing left to support her.

Fina fell downwards into darkness, and a stream of blazing comets plummeted besides her. Silver, Yellow, Red. Magicked fireballs streaked downwards and brought terrible fire to the world. It was the worst thing that Fina could imagine. There was nothing but fire. A few moments longer and she would fall into the inferno. Her heart longed for her friend; for the kind young boy who once lifted her like a bird. If he was here, he could carry her up above the blaze. Without him? She was doomed. She closed her eyes and awaited a demise that never came.

Fina felt a sudden weight beneath her feet and a new hexagonal room came into view as she opened her eyes once more. She was surrounded with equally argent walls that extended upwards with intricate circuit-like etching all throughout. Glimmering looking glasses hung on each side of the adjoining walls. Obscured faces flickered in their resplendent light; Fina could see their eyes, all of which focused on her. Flickering blue flames illuminated the rest of the chamber although they drew no heat. Beneath her feet, the intricate principal glyph of her people’s magicks shimmered.

Fragmented voices rang directly in her mind. Shattered warnings danced through her very being; the admonishments of the Elders cautioning her on what would lie ahead. They danced through her in broken whispers.

_... Fina._

_They are not...._

_They are broken..._

_...cannot be saved._

_Find Rami…_

_crystals… the matrices…_

The final warning was the firmest of all: ‘Do not let them into your heart.’ Time seemed to freeze about her; no more falling stars. No more children at play. No more audience chambers and their turquoise flames. There was nothing but the enfolding burden of her mission. Silence fell.

Eventually, she heard something else. A pair of unfamiliar voices brimming with warmth and concern.

_How is she, Vyse?_

_Breathing's more regular now._ _I think she'll be alright.._

Fina made her choice. She stepped forward towards those voices, towards the unknown… and woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not a lot to go on with this dream-sequence/flashback in the game itself. This is an early chance to work with Fina and Ramirez directly, and I'm glad to have it. Going forward I want readers to understand how good of man he once was, and why the Elders first chose him for their mission.


	6. Kind Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fina awakens to find herself among the Blue Rogues. A magical mishap raises questions about her intentions and her relationship to the Valuans. Who is this strange girl, and how much is she willing to tell her new allies about her mysterious quest?

A new world came into view as Fina opened her eyes. She saw a wooden ceiling that was a far cry from both the miracle constructions of her home or the uncaring steel of the strange ship that has previously claimed her as captive. Although her gaze was still hazy, she realized she was being watched. 

A young woman with red hair and bright eyes that seemed elated beyond all propriety leaned towards her. A handsome-faced lad with messy brown hair and some type of device over his eye regarded her with a curious expression that she lacked the words for. Worry, perhaps?  
  
“Hey!” The red-head spoke up in a loud voice. “Look! She’s coming to…”

They thankfully backed away and Fina rose up from an austere but somehow comfortable bed with a wooden frame and light covers. She looked nervously around the room. 

A lantern—that was right; the people down here hadn’t truly mastered magical architectures—dangled from above. There was a rickety side table bearing a cup of what appeared to be water. The whipping sound of wind rushed nearby and, confused, she twisted her head to see a circular window of sorts. Outside, the unmistakable wisps of clouds zipped by. 

It felt so primitive but as the strength in her body waned and her head fell back to her pillow, it was all she could do to slip back into her rest. When she spoke, her soft voice wavered with disorientation.  
  
“Where am I?” She’d spoken the language of her people but the boy seemed to understand anyway.

“You’re aboard our ship, the _Albatross_ ,” the young man explained cautiously. He clearly didn’t want to cause distress. Fina nodded even if she didn’t entirely understand. 

Fina looked fearfully at her two caretakers. Were they guards? Under her covers, she slipped a hand towards her silver bracelet.

“I’m Vyse,” the boy said. He reached his hand out towards Fina in greeting. It was a gesture she didn’t understand and didn’t accept. “Don’t worry. You’ll be safe here.”  
  
Fina felt her heart being pulled apart. On the one hand, she heard her Elders’ warnings. This man was a _heathen_ , a _primitive_ who would invariably lead her to ruin. But her heart did not seem to agree. Vyse’s words rang true enough that she wanted to immediately believe them. He would keep her safe. 

For the first time since arriving in this world, she smiled. It was a warm and beautiful thing that held the same sweetness and fragility of a blossoming flower.  
  
Fina struggled to find her words before shifting into a stiff but passable take on Arcadian common tongue.  
  
“Y..es,” she finally managed before removing her hand from Vyse’s. “Thank you very much.”  
  
The red-haired woman gave an infectious chuckle. “No need to thank us,” she explained, thumping her chest. “Blue Rogues are always there to help people!” _  
_  
The spit-fire pirate leaned in closer. “I’m Aika. I’m an air pirate like Vyse. It’s nice to meet you.”  
  
Vyse nodded in agreement before regarding Fina with caution. “You were hurt when we found you,” he noted. “How much do you remember? Could you tell us your name?”

Fina hesitated as though she was doing an internal calculus. Heathens or not, they seemed kind. Nothing like what she expected to find. Aika was a bit loud but her smile came easy and there was something about Vyse that defied words. Something she couldn’t quite explain. She decided to trust them. At least for the moment, with what she could spare.

“My name.. is Fina.”

A curious energy held upon the air as Vyse took a moment to look, truly look, at the woman before him. Her light hair, near-silver, was nothing like he’d ever seen and her clothing was remarkably odd. There was excitement and a deep curiosity. He regarded Fina like he might a particularly striking sunrise before the reality of it all set in.

Fina had the softest face he’d ever seen. It was like the hot Arcadian sun had never touched it, and her eyes… Sure, he’d seen green eyes before but hers were wide and full of intense kindness. Only the most expert appraisal might spot the hints of sadness underneath.  
  
Fina stared back. Vyse was rugged in a way she’d never seen. Tan and bearing the marks of work and possibly even battle. Handsome, yes, but possessed of a sturdy and trustworthy face that seemed entirely out of place on a “savage” land-dweller. Already, she began to consider what she did and did not know… and if the world of man was as consistently barbarous as she’d been taught.

They both realized they were staring. Vyse grew scarlet and Fina felt a warmth come to her face too. The young man struggled to find words.  
  
“Fina, huh?” Vyse stumbled over his words. “That’s a great name... it's so... so feminine.”  
  
The bewildered woman didn’t really know how to respond. “Really? You think so?”

Aika broke the tension. Her laugh rang outwards and bounced about the room. “That wasn't much of a compliment. Looks like you have a lot to learn about women.”

Fina gazed between the two. They spoke to each other with an infectious ease.  
  
“That your advice as my friend, Aika, or as a lady?” Vyse’s tease was meant to rile the tomboy up. It might have led somewhere too if Fina didn’t speak up from her bed.  
  
“Excuse me, but I have a question,” she said. It might have been the first ‘excuse me’ anyone uttered on the _Albatross._ “What exactly is an Air... Air Pirate?”  
  
Vyse and Aika froze in confusion that quickly shifted into deep concern. They wheeled about to look at Fina. The young woman seemed to shrink in place.  
  
“You were out sailing all by yourself and you don't even know what Air Pirates are?” Aika’s interrogation came first although it was clear for all her annoyance, she held genuine worry for Fina.  
  
The blonde woman retreated a bit into her sheets. “I'm sorry... it's my first time traveling.”  
  
Vyse elaborated: “Air Pirates are sailors who do what their hearts say, consequences be damned.”  
  
Fina nearly blocked her ears at Vyse’s cuss. It served only to make her more endearing.  
  
“Air Pirates are divided into two factions,” Aika explained. “Blue Rogues and the Black Pirates.”  
  
“Black Pirates will attack anything in the sky…” Aika demonstrated this with Arcadia's worst pantomime; one of her hands swooped down and bopped the other. “... especially merchant vessels and unarmed ships. Blue Rogues only take cargo from armed ships, especially the Imperial Armada. We use the gold to help people and support local settlements.”  
  
Fina nodded although much of the concept eluded her. She was about to ask for clarification when Vyse spoke up. She rested her soft gaze on him.

“The idea was to steal whatever treasure that Valuan ship had,” Vyse added. “Turns out the most valuable treasure was you. I mean… you know.. because of how the Valuans were guarding you and all that...”  
  
Aika leaned towards her partner. “Smooth, pal.”  
  
Vyse looked at Fina seriously. If she noticed his inadvertent flirtation, her face didn’t show it. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’re not here to kidnap you, and we’ll take you to whatever port you desire. Just relax and enjoy the trip.”  
  
Fina smiled. It was clear that she was starting to feel a bit more comfortable even if she was still hiding a little behind her bedsheets. “Of course,” she said. “Thank you.”

The moment was interrupted by a booming over a brass speaking tube that snaked down the wall nearest the door. Fina ducked further under her covers. The voice was tinny and held excess echo but it was unmistakable: Captain Dyne.  
  
“Vyse, Aika... How long are you going to sit there chit-chatting? Come to the bridge now!”  
  
Vyse cursed. “Damn it. I knew I was forgetting something.”  
  
“I completely lost track of time,” Aika lamented. She looked towards Fina, who had peeked out to look at the pair again. “There’s some water and spare bread on the side table if you need it.” The young woman nodded appreciatively.  
  
“We'll see you later!” When Vyse said it, it really did sound like a promise. “Try and get some rest.”  
  
Fina sighed, watching as her two rescuers disappeared into the hall. She let her head fall back into the pillow. They couldn’t know. None of them could know her true purpose for coming to Arcadia.

* * *

Vyse and Aika stepped out of the cabin and into the hall. The young man sighed as the weight of everything hit him harder than any of Antonio’s blows might’ve. Aika noticed immediately and also seemed to deflate. The pair were certainly willing to weather whatever would come; be that simply shuttling Fina back to her people or dealing with the Armada’s wrath but none of it made sense.  
  
Aika asked the question first: “Do you believe her?” A general question but an important one. “A girl like that out on her own, and she doesn’t even know what a pirate is? It’s a miracle she’s not dead!”  
  
Vyse shushed his vociferous friends lest her voice carry back to Fina. “Does it matter?” His question cut to the heart of the matter. “She’s in trouble, Aika. That’s all I care about.”  
  
His friend nodded but not before offering a counterpoint. “You’re not wrong,” she said carefully. “But it’s like Vice-Captain Briggs says: you’re not obligated to light your ship afire to keep the world warm.”  
  
Vyse scoffed. “Aika, I’m not gonna-”  
  
“I know,” the redhead said. “You’re already thinking about it though! Because you’re a _good_ person, Vyse, and that’s not always the same as being a good pirate. I want to help her too but there’s lots we don’t know yet! Did you hear that language she spoke for a moment? I have no clue what it was!”  
  
They made their way further down the hallway and passed a familiar face: Luke paced up and down the hall, his face a monument to worry. Reddish hair fell across his face, his free hand manipulating a familiar blue moonstone dagger through his fingers. As Vyse and Aika drew closer, he gazed impertinently.  
  
“How’s the damsel?”  
  
Vyse rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. “Hard to say,” he admitted. “She’s resting and safe now, but we have no idea what she was doing with the Valuans.”

“Whatever it was, it had Admiral Jerkpants and his Golden Tugboat out on the prowl,” Aika added.  
  
Luke chuckled quietly although he seemed uneasy. “It’d been a while since we hit a Valuan ship like that,” he said. “If you’re wondering about the crew that didn’t die fighting... when the rest heard their fearless leader had fled, they surrendered. Dyne let the rest go.”  
  
“We’re not gonna litter the deck with their corpses, Luke,” Vyse noted. “Are you okay though? You’re pacing all up and down the hall.”  
  
Luke paused. “It’s Mabel,” he explained. His glace lingered on an adjacent cabin door. “She took a shot in the fray. Not her first but it, uh, seems bad this time.”  
  
Aika instinctively took a step towards the door and peeked in. In a bed not too different than Fina’s, Mabel—the raider so bold with her booze as to be called Mabel the Bottomless—lay resting beneath a matted cover of sheets. Her face was a portrait of sweaty disease. Vyse quickly walked to Aika’s shoulder and pulled her away from the door.  
  
“Timmus patched her up best he could,” Luke explained. “Said all’s left to do is to keep her comfortable and hope.”  
  
Vyse took a step towards Luke. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I made the call and…”

His fellow sailor shook his head. “It was the right one,” Luke offered. “You saved that girl and we gave the Valuans’ hell. Mabel and I knew the risks. That’s a fair enough trade as any..”  
  
None of them said anything for a moment. Air Piracy was a life spent with one foot in the grave. A slip on the deck, a fierce enough squall, a stray shot. Anything could spell disaster. You lived as best you could, as free as you could until the jig was up. Mabel wasn’t beyond hope, and she would have been the first to say that death against a squad of tin-can bastards was a good death. Aika broke the silence.  
  
“It’s not gonna come to that,” she said before flicking Luke on the forehead. “Don’t even think about it.”  
  
The gesture seemed to pull the man out of his reverie. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said before regarding Vyse. “Hey, you should really get to the bridge. Captain was asking after you something fierce.”

“Oh, crap!”  
  
Vyse and Aika pressed onwards apace and climbed a ladder upwards to the bridge. It was a positivity massive room, particularly by the standards of a Blue Rogue vessel. A large map’s table rested to the right side of the room. The center bore a blue rug with golden trim. Comfortable, not excessive. Three large windows offered full view of the forward sky and even the deck below. Vice-Captain Briggs manned the helm, his salt and peppered hair pulled into a ponytail. Navigator Landis, short and stubby, stood nearby.  
  
Skidding into the room, Vyse and Aika stopped right before Captain Dyne. He regarded them as he might a stray dog and cat that wandered to his house door. 

“You're late, Vyse,” he said. “I told you that you need to be on time for your shift.”

“Dad! I was only a little late!” Vyse’s reply drew a cold look from his father.  
  
Aika felt compelled to defend her friend. “We stopped to see how Mabel was doing. Really, we weren’t that late right?”

It was clear from the softening of Dyne’s features that he empathized with the pair. But he was a captain first and father second. 

“On a ship, being a little late can cost lives,” he scolded. "And remember... while we're on board, it's not "Dad," it's "Captain.” Get it right.”

“Aye, Captain,” the two young rogues said in an immediate reply. 

“How’s our guest?” Dyne’s voice filled with a newfound concern.

“Awake,” Vyse explained. “Her name’s Fina and she’s resting for now.”

Aika chimed in. “It’s strange. She didn’t know what an Air Pirate was..”  
  
“We can deal with that once we’re back home. You know, since you’re late I should put you both on deck-swab duty,” Dyne said dramatically. Briggs and Landis craned their necks to watch their captain’s judgement. “But I’ll settle for something more dangerous: your hands on the wheel and Aika’s eyes on the map.”  
  
Vyse and Aika shared truly impish grins before thanking their captain with a nod. Vyse made his way to the ship’s wheel. Vice-Captain Brigg stood at his side.  
  
“Damn shame if we sank not because of Valuans but because you couldn’t properly eye a ridge, kiddo.”  
  
Aika laughed, leaning over the map table. “It’s hard to screw up,” she said. Navigator Landis chortled in agreement. “Heading is due southeast, Vyse.”  
  
Landis added an important note: “Lest ye run afoul of rift winds,” the stocky man offered. “Then it’s best to alter course as needed. Pilfered a stabilizer off that Admiral’s ship but ain’t had time to set it to work yet. Full on into a rift and we’ll splinter something fierce. So be mindful.”

Dyne sauntered to his captain’s chair and sat down. He searched about his pockets until he found a fresh cigar and his own red moonstone. He held the stogie to the moonstone and gave a puff, the combined heat and his own effort bringing the sinful treat to light. He sampled the smell of Nasrad dokha before inserting the cigar into his mouth with a chomp.  
  
“Alright,” he said with haughty amusement, eyes regarding Vyse. “Get us home, boy.”

* * *

Fina sensed it acutely; the unmistakable fading of a spirit. Long ago, her people held an aptitude for understanding the matters of the soul, that ever-hazy essence at the core of all living things. The Silver Moon radiated with the most subtle of energies. Studying its shimmering wavelengths gave birth to the magicks of life and death. Where other civilizations had mastered the arts of abjurations or illusions, her people held an intense knowledge of life itself. That’s how, even as she lay tired under her bedsheets, she felt the fading oscillations of a soul struggling to survive. She felt that pain so acutely—the young woman had a particular sensitivity for such things—that she sat upright, closing her eyes and focusing on the source.  
  
Rising from her bed, the young woman brushed her immaculately white dress out of an ingrained sense of propriety before she walked quietly to the cabin door. Would it be alright to leave? Would she be disrespecting the people who saved her by wandering? Perhaps so, although Vyse and Aika seemed to have a cavalier nature about them unlike anything she’d ever known. Was that simply the way of things amongst these… what had they called themselves, Blue Rogues? 

She idly stroked her silver bracelet before making a decision. Perhaps her Elders were right and none of these people could be trusted; what she knew at the moment was that a soul was fading, and that she could help it. They wouldn’t object to that, right? Surely her duty was also to offer succor when needed. So she made a choice, the first of the many brave choices she would make during her time among these people. She opened her cabin door and walked into the hallway.  
  
Fina had feared stumbling into some stranger and being forced to stammer an explanation as to her wanderings. Instead, she found the hall all but deserted. A man with reddish hair clambered up a ladder as a voice rang out from above.  
  
“Look what Vyse found!” It was Aika.  
  
“We found it together,” Vyse replied embarrassedly.  
  
The red-haired man reached the top of the ladder, climbing up and stamping on the wood above. “Is that… a grave?” Unlike the others, he didn’t sound pleased. “I don’t want to think about that shit right now..”  
  
“That might be _the_ Pirate’s Grave, Luke. Resting place of one of the oldest known pirates. Hell, it could even be Daccat’s grave!” An older voice, a commanding voice. “Take the engines to a drift. Briggs, on the wheel again. Let’s get a closer look.”  
  
“Aika, toss me my sketchbook!” Vyse again.  
  
The commotion above left ample opportunity for Fina to carefully walk down the hall towards the spiritual disruption that she felt. Slowly, she made her way to another cabin door and paused outside. What was the custom for entering a room here? She didn’t know but she was certain that the fading soul was in that room. Fina was as proper and reverential a woman as Arcadia would know, but the choice was between impropriety and a life. Put in that perspective, it was hardly a choice at all. She chose life, opening the door with a light creaking and walking inside.  
  
It was much like the cabin she had rested in. A lone bed and a small side table. There was a chair in the corner of the room and a few scattered items of clothing. Laying in the bed was a sharp-faced woman with brown hair. Fina reached out with her mind, sensing the shifting energy about the woman. From her appearance, she seemed restful enough but the truth was clear to Fina’s senses: the woman was dying. 

Fina approached cautiously, standing at the woman’s side and focusing on her energy. She bore some type of injury to her stomach. She could tell from the faint traces of magic lingering about the woman that she’d been treated with rudimentary green magic, the healing power of the Green Moon. Perhaps a basic _sacri_ spell or something even more meager. Enough to ease pain but not enough to save her. Fina brought her hands to hover above the injured woman’s stomach and began to call upon her own gifts. A stronger spell, something more robust: the rejuvenating power of an advanced _sacres_ spell.

A green light shone from Fina’s fingertips. The spell was an order of magnitude higher than whatever had been administered and the brown-haired woman moaned weakly in response. But there was more work to be done.  
  
The woman’s very soul was strained and needed to be anchored back to her body. That was the realm of silver magic. Fina took a breath and focused on the fraying pieces of the woman’s soul. She pictured them in her mind, fluttering like the tattered pieces of a flag. Fina called on the mending magic of the Silver Moon, a subtle _risan_ spell, that began to weave the woman’s soul back into place.  
  
“What are you doing?” A confused and angry voice growled at the door. The red-haired man had returned. He took a harsh step forward into the room. Fina continued to weave her spell. So close to finishing. Almost there, almost there.  
  
“What are you doing? Stop!” The man yelled, before he turned back to the hall. “Captain! Captain!”  
  
A clamor rose from above until one by one the room was full of faces strange and familiar. Fina did not recognize the older men but she saw Aika and Vyse. They looked as confused as the others, though less angry. The eldest of the group, a mustached man with greying hair spoke up.  
  
“What’s going on here, Luke?”  
  
The red-haired man snapped an accusatory finger at Fina. The white-garbed woman shrunk in horror. “She was in here… doing… something to Mabel! Magic! I couldn’t see but she was hurting her!”  
  
Fina shook her hands in panic. “No! No! She was in pain; I was helping her. I know mending spells. Green magicks! Silver magicks!”  
  
Dyne spoke up in an attempt to ease the situation. “Our doctor treated Mabel already,” he said. “The best we could under the circumstances. Your meddling might have harmed one of my crew, my _family._ ”  
  
Fina stammered. “She was.. dying…”  
  
“You don’t know that!” Luke was all but apoplectic at the suggestion. He features curled into a snarl as he rear up higher like a centralk snake ready to strike. He rushed to Mabel’s bedside and was about to speak further when a hand reached out to take his own.  
  
“It’s alright, Luke… I’m… alright…” Mabel’s voice tiredly carried throughout the room. Silence fell. It was as if a cold wind had blown and frozen the rogues solid. A single blink, a single motion and the reality of it all would fall apart. Mabel smiled at Luke, her eyes glazing with recollections of a not so distant dream.“I felt… like I was soaring off and then… and then… She was there. Helping me back.”  
  
Luke fell to his knees, pressing his head against Mabel’s. “Don’t you ever do that again,” he said. “Don’t you ever go on without me..”  
  
Dyne brought a finger about in a circle. Briggs wheeled about and left into the hallway. There was the telltale sound of his boot climbing the ladder up to the bridge.  
  
“We should leave them be,” Dyne ordered. “Aika, Vyse… Fina… With me to my cabin. It appears we have much to discuss.”

* * *

Victor Dyne’s personal quarters were nothing special but certainly more luxurious than the small cabins and berths aboard the _Albatross_ . A comfortable enough bunk rested in a far off corner of the room but the main fixture was a fine mahogany work desk pilfered from a Valuan vessel ages ago. The top was littered with parchment, maps and other niceties. A banner bearing his recognizable standard hung behind the desk: a rounded skull with an eyepatch flanked by two pairs of wings. It was the most recognizable sigil in all of the Mid Ocean thanks to years of successful raids and derring-do.  
  
Dyne sat at his desk, patient eyes looking at the trio before him. His son Vyse, the ever-excitable Aika, and their mysterious new friend. He looked Fina directly in her kind eyes.  
  
“You did Mabel a kindness in the end, and although you were a little impertinent in doing so, you’re among rogues so I’ll let that slide,” he explained. “But let me be very clear, young lady: that could have ended very differently.”  
  
Fina nodded. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“I’m Dyne, captain of this vessel,” he explained. “You’ve already met my son Vyse and his friend..”  
  
“Captain?” Fina seemed confused.  
  
“I’m in charge around here.” At that Fina began to bow but Dyne quickly stopped with one of his characteristic hand raises. “There’s no need for that.”  
  
Fina paused again. “I.. wouldn’t know… I don’t know anything about Air Pirates..”  
  
Dyne frowned. “And that, Fina—May I call you Fina?—has me rather curious, along with your little magical misadventure. There’s a few questions I want to ask you. Will you answer them for me?”

Fina gave another nod. She stood at the ready.  
  
“I've been sailing for a very long time,” Dyne explained. “But I've never come across anyone wearing clothes like yours. And I’ve hardly stumbled on anyone so young with such a natural talent for magic. What country are you from and why were you traveling alone out there? What did the Valuans want with you?”  
  
“Captain, I’ve been thinking,” Aika said. “I agree that Fina might be… strange but she doesn’t seem dangerous or anything like that.”  
  
The young woman received a stern look in reply. Dyne spoke again. “Hopefully not, but it is my duty to not only protect the safety of my family, but the safety of my crew as well. If this girl is a danger of any sort to you or any of my men, I’ll need to deal with her accordingly.”  
  
Vyse raised a voice. “We understand that,” he said diplomatically. “And if it helps ease your worry, captain, you can consider me jointly responsible for anything that happens. It was my decision to bring her aboard.”  
  
Dyne spared his son a respectful glance and nod of acknowledgement before looking at Fina. “So, Fina. It’s your turn to speak.”  
  
There was a silence in the room for a moment before the blonde woman spoke up. She looked at Dyne with regret. “I… I cannot say… I can’t tell you.”  
  
The elder rogue considered Fina carefully. “Is it because we’re Air Pirates? You don’t trust us, then? I promise you, dear, we mean you no harm.”  
  
Fina shook her head, taking a step forward that bore a conviction and power hitherto unseen in the meek woman.  
  
“No, that has nothing to do with it,” she explained firmly. “I thank you with all my heart for saving my life. But I cannot tell any living soul about the purpose of my quest. Even if it means sacrificing my own life. I have no intention of endangering any of your lives. If you believe anything that I say, believe this.”  
  
Dyne sighed like he’d lost the perfect poker hand. “Looks like I lost this one,” he quipped. I understand your dilemma. And I can see in your eyes that you are true to your word. You don’t need to divulge the details of your quest. Understand that you now have my trust... Be careful that you do not lose it.”  
  
“Thank you, Captain Dyne,” Fina said. She resisted the urge to bow. “I will not disappoint you.”  
  
Dyne rose from his seat and began to walk towards the trio. “Vyse, Aika.. Why don’t you bring the girl… Bring Fina to the deck so she can see everything when we arrive?”  
  
“Arrive? Arrive where?” Fina turned to look at Vyse curiously.  
  
The young man grinned wide, offering his new friend a courteous hand. “Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to incorporate Discoveries into the text in a semi-organic way. Having the grave present as Mabel's fate was in the air made sense; also it acts to establish one of Vyse's character traits: for the purposes of our story he will be chronicling his journey (somewhat like the game) in a journal that contains personal sketches and records of discoveries he will find sailing. Vyse is a straightforward character, who I love dearly, but the boy needs a hobby besides being a decent fellow.
> 
> Introducing Fina's magic was important as well, and there are allusions to Cupil as well. We'll get to them down the road. For now, the incident with Mabel also serves to move the Dyne conversation from Pirate Isle to the ship itself. It's an important conversation that should happen sooner narratively, and it gives more time to explore Pirate Isle and the trio's budding relationship without as much expository nonsense in the next chapter.
> 
> Wow, longer notes here but I hope they were worthwhile. Again, I hope you enjoy what I wrote. All feedback is appreciated!


	7. Totally Not A "Pirate" Isle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blue Rogues arrive home to take stock of their situation. Our heroes explore the town and grow closer even as the mysterious nature of their new friend causes new questions and worries. An unexpected shower of lights in the sky teases of fresh fortune..

The _Albatross_ sailed apace through the Mid Ocean; its engines seethed with newfound power courtesy of a haul of refined moonstones that the crew had taken off the _Cygnus_ . Dyne’s crew had become exceedingly efficient over the years, perfecting both halves of “hit and run.” The raw materials for powering a ship’s engines were harder to come by this far out from the “civilized” world but Valuan vessels guzzled the stones faster than Mabel could hit a bottle of loqua. The _Cygnus_ was a damn large ship and that meant plenty of moonstones to pilfer. 

Other things were taken—munitions, caches of gold, a few spare uniforms, a rather fine tea set—but the moonstones mattered most. Freshly dumped into your ship’s engines, they ignited a boost like nothing else. The _Albatross_ was already an exceptionally fast ship and the best thing any Blue Rogue could do after striking a Valuan ship was to be damn well good and gone by the time any patrols arrived. Hit them hard, hit them fast. Leave them guessing afterwards.  
  
The wind whipped exceptionally swift along the ship’s deck as a result. It seemed to have sent Fina into a daze as she pattered carefully about. Each passing cloud, every little hovering rock filled her wide green eyes with wonder. Vyse kept close lest she stumble and regarded the strange woman with bemusement. 

The young woman had the look of someone astounded by the world. He knew that look well because he wore it on his face every time he set sail. The crispness of the air, the shifting blue of sky. The knowledge that you could go anywhere you wanted. Yet, Fina’s gaze held an even deeper sense of wonder.  
  
“If I didn’t know better,” he started, walking with her closer to the port side. “I’d guess that you’d never sailed a day in your life.”  
  
Fina looked at him bashfully for a moment before looking away. The pair peered over the side. A school of thin sky sardis followed in the _Albatross’_ wake. They watched the fish sweep and swim about.

“I’ve never traveled like this,” Fina finally admitted.

Aika sauntered up behind the pair and leaned directly against the deck’s rails. 

"Well, you’re not a pirate so it’d be a little weird if you had a lot of experience with pirate ships.” The redhead chuckled before producing a bright green apple and crunching into it.  
  
Vyse grinned. “I dunno, Aika,” he said with a gesture towards Fina’s immaculately white dress. “She might be the Queen of the Rogues. On a dangerous mission for the Pirate Lords.”  
  
Fina spoke up. “Oh, uh.. I’m not that,” she offered sweetly. “What I mean is that I’ve never been on a wooden ship. One with cloths catching the wind.”  
  
Aika coughed on a piece of her apple. “You mean _sails_ ? How the hell did you get anywhere?” She and Vyse looked at each other in utter bafflement as they awaited Fina’s explanation  
  
Fina shrunk a little. “There was nowhere to travel to,” she said. “My people… live only in one place and we had everything we needed. This is my first time away from home at all.”

That caught Vyse’s attention more than anything else Fina had said. His intuition had been right; Fina was sailing for the first time. While the girl was sworn to keep many secrets, there was a chance he might learn more about a strange new aspect of the world. Fina could learn in turn. His heart leapt at the idea of such an exchange. Vyse cared for gold and glory as much as the next pirate but he’d always cared most intensely about people and places. Perhaps there were lands no one even knew of or villages like Fina’s that were all but unknown. Every port held new possibilities, every island featured new and beautiful sights. The people were the best. New drinking partners. Passing travelers with pearls of wisdom. He even relished meeting new rivals and enemies. Now? He hoped to make a new friend.

He pushed off the deck’s railing and sauntered over to a bag he’d left near mizzenmast. He rifled his hand about before returning with a leather-bound journal and his trusty and well-worn map. Aika chuckled. Even when he wasn’t on duty, all Vyse could think about was sailing. 

Her friend returned, unfurling the map and holding it before Fina.  
  
“Okay, I know you can’t say what your mission is but what about where you were going?” He smiled at her. “If we’re close, we can figure the best way to help you. After we’ve gone back and stashed away whatever we took from the Valuans.”  
  
Fina looked at the map for a moment and her face took on a strange touch of sadness. “Why is your map so small?” She asked the question as innocently as a child.  
  
Aika leaned in. The map looked good to her: Valua to the far north, the desert kingdom of Nasr somewhat beside it. Further above, the Frontier Lands and their speckled islands. There was the familiar Mid Ocean and the essentially impassable South Ocean near the bottom. “Looks about right to me.”  
  
Vyse cocked his head in agreement. “Yeah, I dunno what you mean.”  
  
Fina regarded her companions. Clueless and careless, both of them. _There’s so much they don’t know._  
  
“It’s nothing,” she said gently before looking at the map. “In truth, I’d not quite decided where I was going. I barely arrived here when I was attacked by…. You called them “Valuans”. I know some things about them but not much. A very large empire, yes?”  
  
“Not just a large empire,” Vyse explained carefully. He made no mention of Fina’s apparently limited world experience but it left him with a question: how could anyone be so removed from the empire while also being so wanted by them? 

“They’re _the_ empire. The largest the world’s ever known.”  
  
Aika leaned over to point at a massive landmass on the northern part of the map. “That’s them,” she said. “They control most of the sky these days. You’re lucky it was only one ship chasing you.”  
  
Fina looked warmly at Aika. “I am lucky… that you and Vyse saved me,” she said. “The Moons bless us in strange ways, it seems.” It was a comfortable thought that lingered on the air before she spoke again. “But… so much has happened and I don’t know your- ... _this_ part of the sky well. Where are we exactly?”

Vyse tapped his nose in a knowing gesture. “Thought you’d ask that,” he said before moving to point towards a collection of islands at the map’s center. “We’re here in the Mid Ocean. All these islands are part of a loose collection called the Meridian Islands, so it’s also sometimes just called Meridia.”  
  
“Under the Silver Moon,” Fina noted quietly to herself.  
  
Aika once again leaned to point at one of the larger islands in the chain. “That’s where we’re going,” she said. “Pirate Isle. That’s our home!”  
  
Fina nodded. “And this… Meridia is ruled by the Pirate Lords you mentioned before?”  
  
The young rogues doubled over with laughter. It wasn’t cruel or teasing; they weren’t enjoying themselves at Fina’s expense. They were simply overjoyed to be in the presence of someone so curious and captivating. 

Fina looked at the pair with something approaching worry. Had she broken some sort of social rule?  
  
Aika caught her breath first. “Oh Moons, no! Vyse was joking! There’s no Pirate Lords or Queen of the Rogues,” she explained before a deviousness came over her eyes. “Though if we’re auditioning for the part, I suppose I’ll have to give it a shot..”

“At least two… Maybe three..” Vyse muttered to the side. Aika rounded on him dramatically.  
  
“What was that?!” Her voice rose higher.  
  
“Noooothing, Aika,” Vyse shot back with his own amusement. It was like a married couple sniping back and forth. “You’d make a great Queen of the Rogues...”  
  
Fina still seemed confused. “Do you have a ruler? Your father didn’t want me to bow to him…”  
  
Vyse nodded. “The villages have elders and other leaders like my father,” he explained. “But it’s nothing too serious. They meet up if there’s anything big that needs to be discussed but that’s about it.”  
  
“Elders…” Fina became pensive for a moment. “And Valua doesn’t come this way?”  
  
Aika shrugged. “Why would they? There’s nothing there.”  
  
The blonde woman blinked. “Your home is called Pirate Isle…? They’ll know that you are there surely..”  
  
Vyse chuckled. “That’s what folks might call it casually,” he explained. “But on the map it’s just Windmill Isle. Sleepy little village in the middle of nowhere. Totally not a base for Dyne of the Blue Storm.”

Fina gave an understanding smile. “I see…”  
  
Vyse rolled up the map and slipped it into a pocket. He brought up his journal instead and began to flip through it. There were pages of navigational notes and a few personal musings, lists that seemed to correspond with different raids and salvage operations, and hand-drawn maps that appeared to be marking the flow of wind currents. As he flipped, he paused on certain sections where rich drawings filled the page. Fina felt she could reach out and touch them.  
  
The Silver Moon caught high in the clouds. Large rocks with strange coral growths snaking off their sides like flowers in bloom. Aika posing with her boomerang over her shoulder. A landscape dotted with jagged crystal and small pools that Fina somehow understood to be springs surrounded by sprouting silver moonstones. The rugged and reluctant face of Vyse’s father. Scribbled out images of various skulls and other designs somewhat like the emblem she saw in the captain’s quarters. Ships. So many ships. All of them sailing off into an astounding and intoxicating horizon.  
  
There were two fresh images as well: a large tower of rocks with a ship’s anchor wrapped about it. Perhaps the grave that she’d heard Vyse and the others get so excited over? ….And there was the image of a sleeping woman; her features were fair and her eyes closed in what seemed to be a peaceful rest. A tattoo graced her forehead; a circle with a line running downwards from the center until it resolved in a sort of rising slash to the left. It was her. 

That gave the woman pause but not for fear of anything untoward. The drawing’s detail emphasized the time it must have taken for Vyse to compose. Had he and Aika truly held vigil at her bedside for so long? They were strangers—idolatrous and dangerous brutes according to the Elders—who had no cause to care about her. Her presence on the page begged to differ. She had been in danger and they’d saved her. And as she lay in dark and dreaming sleep, Vyse had been there.

Fina turned to look at Vyse. A stirring came to her heart for a moment. A fleeting and young feeling. The young man looked back for longer than he intended before speaking up. 

“Folks say that Meridia is a dull place,” he explained. “But even if we ignore its kickass pirate crews and free skies, there’s plenty to see. Plenty of people to meet. I… try to keep a record of it all; when I travel even further, I’ll have notes on the whole world!”  
  
Aika tossed her finished apple over the ship’s edge and walked over to Vyse, ruffling his hair. “One thing at a time, Daccat.”  
  
Fina looked to Aika. “Daccat?”  
  
The redhead nodded. “Most famous pirate ever,” she said with a grin. “Maybe the closest thing we’ve had to one of those ‘pirate lords’ you thought were real.”  
  
Vyse demurred a little. “Long way to go before I’m anywhere close to as famous as him.”  
  
Aika winked at her friend. “Until we’re _both_ as famous!” 

Fina didn’t completely understand but she smiled. The pair had a way of pulling the young woman out of herself that she found surprising. “I’m certain you’ll both succeed,” she said genuinely before looking to the sky off the ship’s side again.  
  
“What is it?” Vyse couldn’t help but notice her renewed curiosity. He closed his journal and returned it to his bag.  
  
Fina hummed in thought. “It’s merely peculiar,” she said. “So this is what it’s like down below…”  
  
“Below?” Aika’s follow up question made Fina’s heart seize. She’d said too much.  
  
The solution to her verbal predicament came with a swiftness that surprised her. Fina nodded, turning to look at the redhead with a smile. “The island I live on is up higher in the sky,” she said. It was a lie. Mostly.  
  
 _Those people are dangerous, Fina. Remember that always. Do whatever you must to protect yourself from them, and protect both the knowledge of your duty and this place from them._

That was what Elder Prime had told her. So she told a lie. It felt foul to do so; there was a part of Fina ashamed at herself and worried what else she might need to do in order to complete her quest. 

Aika accepted the answer but not without some chagrin. “Must be pretty high up,” she noted.  
  
Fina nodded nervously but it was Vyse who spoke up. “Let’s not pry,” he noted even if every ounce of his curiosity was pushing him to ask questions. “She’s not supposed to talk about it, y’know?”

“Fiiiiine,” Aika relented. She turned to point towards a landmass near the _Albatross_ ’ bow. “But only because we’re here!”  
  
The spirited woman took Fina by the shoulders and excitedly spun her to look at the ever-approaching island. “Pirate Island, off the port side! You’re gonna love it, Fina!”

* * *

The _Albatross_ ’ arrival to Pirate Isle, otherwise called Windmill Isle, was initially like any other ship arriving at its home berth. From the village below, friends and family rushed out of their cabins to wave at the triumphant pirate crew. Those that could gathered upon the deck to wave back. Fina stood among them and gazed down at the small hamlet. It was so… primitive and simple. Common houses of log or other wood, a quaint windmill that hummed with traces of blue moonstone modification that she could sense upon the air. There was dirt and grass throughout the island, and only a few scant stone paths or wooden walkways. 

Yet, as she looked down at the people they seemed content and that brought a smile to her face.  
  
There was the question of what you actually did with a large and well-known pirate vessel after a raid —Fina had no experience in thievery but it seemed only natural that hiding would be prudent. That problem was handled with a surprising solution. As the _Albatross_ approached, it descended until it seemed that it was going to slam right into the rocky cliffs beneath the village. Instead, a segment of stone pushed outward as if by mechanism and shifted aside. It fell downwards, held in place by massive chains. The _Albatross_ coasted right into the very heart of the island and into a bustling underground dock lit by a mixture of torchlight and glowing yellow moonstones. 

In short order, the vessel came to dock—cleat hitches tied, spent moonstones removed from the engines—and the crew began to unload its cargo first to the deck and then down a large gangplank that automatically unfurled itself like a proper Valuan machine… which it probably was given how many pieces of _The Albatross_ were stolen from their ships. Burly pirates heaved chests of goods into a small cache on the cavern’s floor. A few of the villagers from above had apparently slipped downwards to this secret haunt to help them and make dramatic greetings. A round pirate rushed down to hug a small and almost sickly looking boy with glasses. Another with a scar on his eye dropped a chest on the ground and turned to find that a young woman with a blue bandana reached up to caress his cheek before looking towards the loot and starting the process of taking inventory. Fina watched it all.  
  
“Every time we head out, there’s a chance we don’t come back,” a voice said behind her. It was Vyse, who walked over to her side. “Air Pirates aren’t just thieves and crooks …”  
  
“Even if we definitely _are_ that!” Aika shouted from somewhere in the hustle and bustle behind the pair.  
  
“... we’re just people,” Vyse finished.  
  
Fina nodded. “It is nice to see,” she said. “I had worried the people here would be… something different. My Elders warned me that.. No, I shouldn’t speak of it..”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “Can’t judge anyone until you’ve met them,” he said as plain and as simple as anything he’d said before. “C’mon.” He nodded down the gangplank and began to walk. Fina kept close behind him.  
  
An older woman with wrapped hair and a plain purple dress regarded Vyse with a bemused look bordering on shock. “Vyse!”  
  
“Mom!” The young man ran forward to give his mother a hug. Johanna Dyne peered over his shoulder at Fina. The young woman looked away. His mother disengaged from the hug and looked sternly at Vyse.  
  
“....Did you get married?!! Why didn’t you say anything? Who is she? Where did you meet? Is she nice? She looks nice and my what a lovely gown. Oh, son I can’t believe you didn’t…”  
  
Victor Dyne marched commandingly down the gangplank towards his wife and son, giving a laugh that rumbled up and about the underground dock. 

“Relax, Johanna,” he said. “Our boy might rush from time to time but not like that! This is Fina; a guest who we… disentangled from the Valuans.”  
  
The older woman gave the world’s most resounding sigh. “Oh, thank the Moons…”  
  
Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. His face glowed like a red moonstone. “She’s a friend,” he said. “Her ship was destroyed and they’d taken her..”  
  
Dyne kissed his wife on the forehead. “Not quite back in time for breakfast,” he said apologetically. “Sorry.”  
  
Fina lingered behind everyone. “Married?” She didn’t quite understand the content of the conversation save that it made Vyse embarrassed. 

Aika slinked behind her, cat-like, and whispered an explanation into the naive woman’s ears. Fina turned a shade of red to match Vyse, something that Aika took a giggling delight in as she moved to deposit a small bag of goods on the loot pile.  
  
The blonde haired woman took a step towards Vyse’s mother. “It’s nothing like that,” she insisted. “It’s as Captain Dyne said. I’m a… traveler, and I greatly appreciate all the help everyone has offered me.” 

This was topped off with a small bow to the woman. The gesture seemed to endear her more to Johanna, who dipped a kind head back in response. “You’re welcome here, Fina.”

“Consider yourself my personal guest until we can find the best way for you to resume your journey,” Dyne offered. “For the moment, perhaps Vyse and Aika could show you around the island.”  
  
Aika gave a small cheer of excitement. “A mini-adventure within your adventure!” The comment prompted a giggle from Fina.  
  
Vyse gazed to the gangplank. ‘Let’s wait one moment,” he said as Luke walked downward from the deck with Mabel in tow. He kept an arm about her, which she bristled against only for appearances sake before the pair stopped before Fina and the others.  
  
“I’m guessin’ yer the gal what saved my life?” Mabel noted with a tired smile. She regarded Fina carefully, as if to take stock of her savior. “Maiden in White pulling me back from the dark depths?”  
  
Luke sighed. “Maybe so, but she snuck into your room…” Mabel waved a hand to dismiss that.  
  
Fina hesitated. “I… used some magic I know to help you,” she said simply. Mabel walked forward and tapped Fina appreciatively on the nose.  
  
“Whoever you are, whatever the hell you’re here to do… I’m glad for it.” 

It was a surprisingly serious comment from the raider that quickly gave way to a shout at her fellow pirates. “Someone uncork the loqua! Turns out I ain’t dead yet!”  
  
The pirates gave a boisterous roar and it was only a moment before cups poured over with a red and all-too-intoxicating liquor. The day was theirs and, Moons willing, so would every day after this one be too. Fina leaned to look at the strange drink in their cups but Dyne spared his son a nod. It would be best to keep the young woman as far away from pirate carousing as possible.  
  
“C’mon,” Vyse said to his friends. “It’s less rowdy up above.”

Vyse had been partly correct in his assessment. The village of “Windmill Isle” wasn’t packed with loqua-drinking pirates or loud ship repairs but it held its own energy. Old women gossiping as the trio walked by; most muttering about the strange new girl that walked amongst them. Some curious would-be sailors asked Vyse how many Valuans he killed to which he bashfully reminded them that the stealing was the point. Aika was more than eager to boast of their battles to strangers. At first, the tale was close to the truth but with each new chance to give updates about the raids Antonio’s size grew three times.  
  
Eventually, they were afforded some manner of quiet. Fina looked about with her characteristic mixture of wonder and sadness that Vyse couldn’t quite understand yet.

“It’s a very nice village,” she said. “There’s so much… life here.”  
  
“We do what we can,” Vyse said with a grin. “Windmill helps keep things running —mills grain but also helps power everything in the base down below— and the island’s small enough that everyone knows each other.”  
  
Fina smiled. “It’s lovely,” she said. “Where I lived, there was only one other person my age. A boy… You remind me of him in some ways. Curious and brave.”  
  
Aika chimed in. “There wasn’t anyone else?”  
  
Fina shook her head. “There’s very few of us,” she explained. “But it is calm and comfortable. I miss it already…”  
  
Vyse nodded sympathetically. “We’ll get you back there soon eno-”  
  
“SURPRISE ATTACK!” A young voice cried out. “Blue Rogues! Send them dogs to the depths!”  
  
At that Vyse was immediately swarmed by a gaggle of children. A brown-haired boy with a red shirt and coveralls descended upon Vyse with a wooden sword, flanked by the somewhat sickly looking boy from down in the port and a young girl in a yellow dress.  
  
“Look out, Vyse,” Aika said dramatically. “It’s Captain Jimmy and his crew!”  
  
The young rogue feigned fear. “No! Not the most daring Blue Rogues ever!”  
  
Jimmy, the red shirted boy and apparently the gang’s leader, took a step forward. “Aye, and we’ll be taking all your gold!”  
  
Vyse took a fighter’s stance. “Never! You’ll have to take my life!”  
  
The children pounced with a yell, Vyse fighting off their attacks with light slaps from his hands that deflected their swords. He reached up and scooped up the frail looking boy.  
  
“He’s got Alan!” The young girl cried.   
  
Vyse gave an evil laugh. “Indeed! I’ve spirited him away to my evil ghost ship! And you’ll never get him back!”  
  
Jimmy rushed at Vyse. “Cutlass feeeeuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrry!” The bombastic cry coincided with a fake stab to Vyse’s gut. The young man made an exaggerated “blaaaaauggh!” before gently placing Alan on the ground and making an affected showing of the stab. He fell to the dirt and played dead.  
  
Aika laughed before speaking up. “Oh no, my dearest friend Vyse has fallen! I guess I’ll just have to loot all his stuff,” she said before looking at Fina. “Unless a wondrous maiden could save him…”  
  
Fina looked at Aika with momentary confusion before comprehension dawned on her face. She stepped forward towards Vyse. 

“R.. Right… I am she …. And I will revive my brave friend Vyse so that he can face Captain Jimmy and his crew another day…”  
  
Stepping forward, she knelt at his side. Vyse turned from his fake death to give Fina an appreciative wink. The young woman focused and cast the faintest of _sacri_ spells, the emerald light of the Green Moon’s magic sparkling over Vyse. The gathered children oooh’d and aaah’d until Vyse leapt back to his feet. 

Aika clapped. “And behold, Vyse has been saved!”  
  
Jimmy and the others began to swirl about Fina, asking questions about how she knew magic and if she was actually a maiden or even a princess. The blonde woman looked to Vyse and Aika for aid and they did little more than laugh at the sight.

“Alright, clear out!” Captain Dyne’s commanding voice once again thundered as he walked into the village square. “Vyse, I need to speak with you for a moment. Aika? Might you show Fina around a little more?”

Aika grinned. “Aye, captain,” she said while taking Fina’s hand. “Might as well freshen up some. Right, Fina?” The demure woman could hardly respond before she was being dragged off towards Aika’s home.  
  
It took only a little time before Vyse and his father found a quieter spot on the village’s walkways where they could speak. In the sky, the sun was beginning to set and the windmill churned ever slower.  
  
“What is it, Dad?” Vyse wasn’t entirely sure what his father wanted to talk about and what could have kept him from celebrating with the crew.  
  
Dyne sat on a makeshift bench by the outer wall of the windmill. “First, I want to say that you did well,” he offered. “You stayed on task out there even if you rushed into that fight first.”  
  
“Aika had my back.”  
  
“I know,” the old captain said. “And you two are as perfect as partners can get but… you need to be prepared, son. I got time left in me yet but you’re not so far off from the age I was when I formed my first crew. It’s good to be confident but better to be smart.”  
  
Vyse sighed. “I guess we bit off more than expected,” he said. “This wasn’t just attacking an Admiral. Dad, I… I don’t know what’s going on but I feel… restless. And not like I usually do.”  
  
“Which is what I want to talk to you about,” Dyne noted. “That girl, Fina. Now I told her I wouldn’t pry in her business and I meant that. I keep my words. But as Luke and Mabel told it, Alfonso seemed mighty worried about making off with her. Something’s up… and I, well, I’m worried about what it could mean.”  
  
“What can I do about it?” Vyse was ready to leap into action already.  
  
Dyne shook his head. “There’s that rushing,” he said with a smile. “What you can do… is look after her. Look after that girl as long as she’s here. Live up to the promise you made to me on the ship.”  
  
Vyse hesitated. “You’re not asking me to spy on her or anything, right?”  
  
His father chuckled but shook his head. “No,” he said seriously. “Just… be decent. Make a friend. You’re good at that. She trusts you and Aika. I don’t know what lies ahead save for the odd stirring in my mind that something’s amiss. So I’m saying this as your father: keep that trust.”  
  
“I’ve never seen you like this,” Vyse said. “Worried, and talking like something’s wrong.”  
  
“Because I’ve never let you,” his father said softly. “But consider the circumstances: an Admiral sails with no escort into Meridian skies—which Valua sure as hell knows belongs to us and not them—all so they can chase that girl?”

Vyse nodded. “And now she’s here..”  
  
“Exactly. As our guest and under our protection. You understand?”  
  
“Yeah…” Vyse thought about Fina for a moment and found himself smiling in spite of the mood. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”  
  
Dyne laughed. “Don’t rush that sort of thing either,” he said. “Aika might toss you up to the Moons.”  
  
Vyse rolled his eyes. “It’s never been like that,” Vyse insisted. Perhaps a bit too forcefully. Dyne stood up, clapping his son on the shoulder. 

“Sure,” he said teasingly. “I guess what I’m saying with all this is: no matter what the hell is going on.. be y _ou_. It’s the best thing you can ever be in this life. And if you have friends like Aika… and maybe even like Fina… I think you’ll do alright.”

* * *

Aika’s home was a smallish cabin with only a few bare necessities but somehow still plenty of clutter. An unkempt bed rested low to the floor at one end with a light red blanket and loose sheets ruffled about upon the top. A nightstand at the bedside held a small and somewhat underwhelming potted plant that Aika seemed to be trying to make the most of. Trinkets and trophies rested in places that defied logic. A straw dummy with a dented Valuan armet that seemed both singed with the ambient signs of red magic and the strikes of some sort of weapon. A table with raggedy stuffed cat dolls that made Fina think of a lone toy she had back when she was a child. Spare moonstones lay among their floppy forms. A sort of furry lump of… something rested underneath the table. Loose clothing was everywhere.  
  
“Make yourself at home,” Aika said before bounding towards the bed and sitting upon it. With a pull of her hair ties, she shook her head and let her red locks fall down. Choice sections fell in front of her ears. She gave a large sigh. “Just taking a moment to put myself back together again.”  
  
Fina smiled. “Back home, after a long lesson in magicks… I also took time to simply.. Well, I guess clean up and maybe look down at the world.”  
  
Aika had found a brush and begun running it through her hair. “Were you really so high up?”  
  
“Very,” Fina said. “The view always made me so curious about what it must’ve bee-”  
  
“Pow! Pow! Pow pow!” The lump beneath Aika’s table leapt to life at the sound of a new voice. A strange purple furred creature began to approach Fina, who yelped and scooted back until she literally fell into Aika’s bed. The animal, a small dog-like critter continued to rush at Fina.  
  
“It’s a beast! Aika!”  
  
The redhead continued to brush her hair. “That’s just Pow,” she explained. “Vyse’s pet huskra. He was spending the night before we ran off to chase that ship you were on. He’s harmless.”  
  
Pow growled and barked again. “Pow! Pow, pow, pow!”  
  
Fina moved further back on Aika’s bed. “You live with animals?”  
  
“What? You never had any pets where you were from?”  
  
Pow leapt to the bed and continued to prowl playfully towards Fina. Aika turned to look at the huskra. “Behave, Pow! This is a friend. Got it? Friiieeeendddd…”  
  
Fina hesitated, regarding the purple furred beastie with a continued mix of fear and interest. Surreptitiously, she reached out with her mind and began to sense the creature’s intentions. Among her own people, the ability to project outwards and sense feelings was a simple bit of magic that even a child could do with training. Empathically, she listened to the huskra’s thoughts.  
  
 _Food! Food! Strange! Big! Bright! Food? Friend? Friend? Play! Play! Friend? Friend!_  
  
Aika spoke up again: “He wants you to pet him.” 

Fina reached out and scratched him behind the ears. “You can hear him too?”  
  
Aika gave Fina a weird look. “Little troublemaker was barking up a storm. So, yeah..”  
  
As Pow appreciated the ear-scritches, he came to a rest besides Fina. She idly pet him but mostly looked at Aika. It seemed that she didn’t “hear” Pow the same way that she could. Another thing lost and denied to these broken people. Not that Pow seemed to mind; he walked over to Aika and flopped onto her lap.  
  
Fina looked around the house. “You live here by yourself?”  
  
Aika put down her brush and began to re-braid her hair. “Not always,” she said with a hint of sadness. “Used to live with my parents but they died when I was pretty young. For a while I lived with Vyse and his family, and then when I got older I just… came back here.”

Fina hesitated. “I don’t… I mean, is it rude for me to ask what happened?”  
  
The redhead continued her braiding. “Not really, but I guess some might say it’s a little rude. My dad was Captain Dyne’s quartermaster. That’s a bit like being someone who solves arguments while also helping with navigation and stuff. They sailed together for a long time.”  
  
She paused. “I guess he was from Nasr out where the Red Moon shines,” she explained. “Joined the captain after the navy ship he was on was attacked. Captain Dyne saved them all from being executed by the Valuans.” 

It was only then that Fina noticed the slighter tanner quality of Aika’s skin. “He met my mom here and they had me. This was a little after the war started..”  
  
“War?” Fina could only think of one particular war and she knew for certain it wasn’t what Aika meant.  
  
“Between Nasr and Valua,” Aika explained as she finished braiding her hair. “Did your people really not get involved at all? Looking down from… wherever the hell you lived?”  
  
Fina shook her head. “I’m sorry, no.”  
  
She turned to look directly at Fina, shifting to sit cross-legged on the bed. “Some type of land dispute or bullshit that grew until everyone was fighting.” She groaned in annoyance of the politics of it all.  
  
“Valua, Nasr, Blue Rogues, Black Rogues. Fighting all the time for a year or two. To hear the vets talk about it, it was a big, stupid mess until…”  
  
Fina leaned in curiously. “Until…. what?”  
  
“The Lord of the Valuan Armada was shot down and Valua sorta… fell back, I guess? Some folks in Nasr still wanted to fight…  
  
Aika hesitated for a moment, thinking about a silent pain that only she could understand and doing her best to phrase it carefully. 

“Dad wanted to help them. He and mom asked Captain Dyne to look after me and then they sailed off to help refugees and run supplies to resistance holdouts still raiding Valuan ships after the war. I guess I was maybe three or four years old…”

A pause. “They never came back,” Aika said. She’d had enough time to come to terms with it. “Their ship was caught by the Valuans…”  
  
Pow pawed sympathetically upon Aika’s lap. Fina looked aghast at her new friend. 

“That’s terrible,” she said. “That there’s still war like that..”  
  
Aika shrugged. “Nothing can be done, I guess,” she said with somewhat forced sanguinity. “Ma and Pop wanted to help people. It was important to them. It’s important to me too…”  
  
Fina placed a kind hand on Aika’s shoulder. “You helped me.”  
  
The rogue laughed softly. “Guesso,” she said with a smile. “And I’m glad we did. Look, Fina, I know you can’t say anything about why you’re traveling and I don’t know you much but…”  
  
“But what?” Fina wasn’t sure what Aika was trying to say. The redhead shook a confused head.  
  
“I dunno. I guess… Well, I guess I’m saying that whatever we can do to help you on your way..”  
  
Fina smiled. “You’ve already done so much,” she said nervously. “You, and Vyse…”  
  
Aika snapped to attention. “Oh Moons, Vyse! We’ve probably kept him waiting long enough,” she said before looking towards a small window where beams of orange sunlight drifted down. “Sunset, eh? I know just where we’ll find him…”

* * *

Vyse sat upon the highest point on Pirate Isle. It was a small spit of a rock that floated far above the rest of the village which was mostly used as a lookout point. A lengthy ladder connected it to the rest of the island, one long enough that it took a minute or two to climb. Following his conversation with his father, he’d grabbed his journal and made his way to the top. The young rogue rested on a bench, sketching the clouds and warm sunset on a fresh page.. Whenever he was home, he came up here at the end of the day to dream about what wonders the world could hold. To sit and sketch and consider the future.  
  
He was more than sure that Aika would come to join him but was even more pleased when, after a considerable time working on his drawing, he heard his friend clamber up the final rungs of the ladder and saw that she’d also brought Fina. He beamed at the two. “Did you lovely ladies have a fine afternoon?”  
  
Aika made a show of huffing and puffing as she stepped away from the ladder. “I’d say so,” she offered with a wink back at Fina. “How was your super secret talk with your dad?”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “Not so secret and not too super,” he said. “I think he’s worried about everything that’s happened. About the admiral, about Fina.”  
  
The white dressed girl stepped forward and offered Vyse an apologetic bow. “I’m so very sorry, Vyse. I don’t want to cause anyone here worry.”  
  
He shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said. “And we don’t need to think about that for now. I come up here to avoid worrying about silly stuff like that.”

He gestured towards the sunset. The sky itself had begun to fill with a warm burnt-orange glow as the sun began to list closer to the horizon.  
  
“It’s so beautiful,” Fina noticed.  
  
“Far upwards too,” Aika added kindly. She sat on the bench by Vyse and beckoned Fina over. The quiet woman took a seat with admirable poise. “Does being up this high make you feel closer to your home?”

Fina smiled at the thought. “I suppose it does,” she admitted. “Even if they’re so very far away.”  
  
The three of them sat for a moment and gazed at the splendor before them. An open sky full of possibility. A world full of joys and dangers. Joys like finding a new friend. Dangers like running afoul of the Empire. Somehow they’d managed both those things. Vyse broke the silence.  
  
“I love it up here,” he said. His voice was soft and steeped in infectious cheer. “It's so peaceful. I come up here to relax and watch the sunsets. When I'm up here, I often wonder what lies beyond the sky…”  
  
Fina looked at him. “Beyond... the sky...?” _These people know so little, and yet.._  
  
“Some say there's monsters,” he said without any sense of fear. There was only excitement and possibility. “Others say there's a maelstrom that either blows ships away, or pulls them in... and they're never seen again. And there are others that just say it's... impossible…”  
  
He said the last word with disdain. “I don’t believe that,” he said simply. “Even if something’s impossible, you need to try. You’ll never learn anything unless you go and see for yourself.”  
  
Fina hesitated before speaking. “I’m sure there’s… so much there,” she offered.  
  
“Someday, I'll be the captain of my own ship,” Vyse said confidently. “I'll go beyond that sunset, and I'll see what's out there. Hell, maybe we’ll all get to go.”  
  
Aika sighed contentedly. “You’d have to pry me from your side with a bar before you could sail off on a journey like that by your lonesome,” she noted. “I want to see it too. I bet if you could go beyond the sunset, the sky would look even more beautiful..”  
  
The thought seems to place them into a reverie and the trio shifted comfortably upon the bench as they gazed upon the sky. The orange glow held until, without warning, a bright streak of white light shot across the curtain of the encroaching night.  
  
“Woah!” Aika stood up immediately. “Did you see that?  
  
Vyse leapt to his feet and ran towards the lookout’s edge. “That was a moonstone!”  
  
“... A moonstone,” Fina repeated. “Was that really…?”  
  
The sky began to fill with a stream of falling moonstones. One, then another and then another which fell down into the sky. Then a final speeding line of magical light that landed on another island in the distance. Vyse flicked the side of his goggle and zoomed into the see a small but somewhat familiar island bearing a tall stone ruin.  
  
“That one landed on Shrine Island,” he said excitedly before flicking the side of his goggle again and disabling the magnification. “That’s not too far from here!”  
  
“S’been a long time since we had a moonstone shower,” Aika noted. For her part, Fina seemed confused.  
  
“I don’t understand. Those were moonstones?”  
  
Aika nodded. “They fall right from the moons themselves,” she explained. “From time to time, a whole bunch break off and fall.”  
  
Fina pictured the image in her mind. Something more sinister and destructive crept in: an image of the world on fire as moonstones cascaded downwards. Her face betrayed nothing. 

“I know what moonstones are,” she said quietly. “But it’s my first time actually seeing any fall from the sky…”  
  
Vyse looked to Aika. His best friend was already looking back with a cat-like grin. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”  
  
“Of course,” Vyse said. “A freshly fallen moonstone like that’s gonna have a lotta energy. Could forge some weapons or even just sell the damn thing if we wanted!”  
  
Aika rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Oh, Vyse,” she said teasingly. “Don’t you think Pow would look perfect in a cape made of pure gold?”  
  
“I think he’s already very cute,” Fina managed to say. She didn’t bother asking what it meant to sell a moonstone.  
  
Vyse grinned wide. “That settles it,” he said boldly. “Tomorrow, we’re salvaging a moonstone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we're away from the opening raid, I'm really able to expand chapters with new dialogues and world-building. It's still a process that's ramping up but I hope that readers find the relationship between our three young heroes is growing into something warm and believable already. 
> 
> I've added some scene that weren't in the game and modified others. Particularly, I want Dyne to get more screen time before upcoming events and I thought it would be good to have Aika and Fina get an early scene together even if that one was exposition heavy. I also used the familiar moment with Pow to gives us a chance to see more of Fina's magical side. I like the idea that Silvites have a far more complete and complex understanding of magic.
> 
> Some details were handled in passing; the dock, the greater specifics of the islands layout. That stuff can be interesting but often seems very mechanical to me as a writer. I kept to what I felt was necessary while trying to allow us as much time with the characters as possible. I hope that worked but, as always, feedback on structure or other details is always welcome. It helps me improve and write a better story. 
> 
> Special thanks to some folks who helped me brainstorm and figure out the timeline on the Valua/Nasr stuff. That will be expanded later.
> 
> Again, long bit of notes! I hope you enjoyed and will share this with other fans if you are liking it! Note that we're expecting a baby here in the family (not mine!) so the next chapter might not come quite as soon. I'll try to keep a fair pace regardless.


	8. Ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vyse and Aika set off to Shrine Island in search of treasure only to find dangerous vestiges of the Old World. Fina bonds with the denizens of Pirate Isle and starts to understand the strange new world around her. Meanwhile, a dark vessel approaches the island bearing a deadly foe and a tragic twist...

The morning light stirred Fina from her sleep before anyone else. A sliver of light had slipped in through a nearby window in the Dyne household that cut a perfect angle upon the guest bed where she lay. Not that it would have taken much to wake her. While her sleep was far from restless, she found herself starkly aware of every chirping bird or swirl in the wind. The world below was louder than she expected—or perhaps her home above had merely been quieter—and it made for a strange experience. She rose carefully from her bed and looked about. Dyne and his wife lay sleeping in the further reaches of the room and she could faintly hear Vyse’s contented hums and the creak of his mattress as he lay resting in the loft.  
  
 _Vyse._

Her thoughts lingered on him for a moment. In some ways, he was everything the Elders warned about: bold, untamed, and possessed of a cavalier nature far different than the austerity she’d been taught to embody. But he was also kind and inquisitive. What risks he took seemed motivated by a genuine decency. He and Aika had saved her from an unknowable but assuredly dreadful fate. He’d taken responsibility for her, a stranger, and treated her with stunning hospitality. Fina felt a debt to all those who had helped her—Aika, Captain Dyne—but her thoughts lingered on Vyse. The curious young man who wanted to sail beyond the sky. If only she could tell him the truth of it all…

He and Aika intended to rush off to recover the fallen moonstone; it seemed a dangerous proposition and even more so once Fina realized the direction they were heading. If Meridia was the land under the Silver Moon and the ruins were toward the north from here, that likely meant some vestige of the Old World—a vestige of her people at the height of their power—remained here on the surface. Fina knew better than anyone what dangers might await two adventurous souls wandering into such a place. It filled her heart with a deep worry for her newfound friends. If any of the Old World’s machines still thrummed with life, they might not make it out of there alive. Especially if one of _those_ had survived...

That worry stirred her to gather her satchel of supplies and quietly exit the house into the empty village square. A small tree stump rested beside the Dyne household, wood stacked nearby for the chopping. Fina kneeled at the stump’s side, feeling the cool grass beneath her, and set to a different kind of work. She reached into her satchel, produced a small glass-like orb and placed it upon the stump. She made a simple but universal invocation. One that had stood the test of time.  
  
“Moons, give me strength..”

With a focus inward, she channeled a _sacres_ spell and guided its healing power into the orb where it was contained in stasis. She’d spotted more rudimentary crystals among the pirates’ loot but they’d only contained a muted accumulation of green magic. These would be more potent and curative in the event her friends found themselves in any harm. She repeated the process and manufactured another disposable crystal.  
  
“You make it look easy,” a gruff voice reckoned behind her quietly. Captain Dyne strolled over to kneel at her side. “Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised after that stunt you pulled with Mabel.”  
  
Fina looked up from her work. “I am still very sorry for overstepping my bounds.”  
  
“Don’t be,” Dyne said genuinely. “You saw someone in need of help and gave it. That’s nothing to be sorry for.”  
  
He eyed her work. “Looking to help again, I see,” he noted. “Worried about my son and his daring plan to swipe that moonstone?”  
  
“Are you not?”  
  
Dyne chuckled. “I worry about my son, and I worry about Aika as if she were my own as well,” he said. “But they’re reaching the age where I can’t fuss over them anymore. My job as a captain… as a father… is to trust them now. Believe in them.”  
  
Fina finished infusing another crystal with healing magicks. “Old World ruins are dangerous,” she said. Her tone let on more than she had intended.  
  
Dyne nodded. “Place another one of those crystals down, yeah?”  
  
Fina did as he asked. The rounded crystal sat upon the stiff tree stump. Dyne reached into his pocket and produced a well-worn yellow moonstone. Fina could sense its thrumming electric energy keenly and the ways in which both Dyne’s own aura fed into the stone and the stone ran its energy back through him. He began to focus on the crystal much like she had. It took only a moment before he began to channel an advanced _electres_ spell into the crystal.  
  
“They say that some of our world is built on the Old,” he explained, voice straining slightly as he focused on his task. “That before everything now, there were all sorts of marvels and magicks. Vast cities, strange ships and creatures… Skilled mages.”  
  
He turned his eyes to Fina. “Of course, that world was lost, though it’s hard to say why. Still, even here in Meridia there’s tall-tales and legends about ancient warriors fighting dragons or even young maidens who could bend the Moons’ powers to their will as easy as breathing. The restoration of the lost Green Moon. The jolt of the Yellow Moon…”  
  
He finished his task with a flashing zap as the spell was contained in the sphere. “There’s even stories of Silver magic. The magic of life and death that could bring the fallen back from the edge of darkness.”  
  
Fina looked away. “I.. know some stories,” she demurred. It was a half-truth. “Of a great war and horrible weapons.”  
  
Dyne handed the electres crystal to the young woman. “I imagine that sort of thing would be terrible,” he noted.  
  
“But I do wonder about those other stories. What a miraculous thing it would be if something of them could be found here and now.” He shrugged. “Ah, but that world is gone. I’m sure there’s nothing like that anymore. People so untouched as to somehow keep those old ways.”  
  
He looked at Fina with a knowing glance. Not so strong as to imply he knew everything but enough that it was clear that the older pirate was putting some pieces together.  
  
Fina frowned. “No, uh… Likely not..” She regarded the electres crystal. “Some things survived though. I’m.. uh, well.. somewhat surprised you know how to make one of these.”  
  
“Received some training,” Dyne answered. “You know… From what I gather of our conversations, you still don’t have a great sense of where you are. If you’re not heading with Vyse and Aika, I could spend a little time showing you the best travel routes through Meridia and other places. Might help on your little quest.”  
  
The young woman smiled. “If you’re offering, then I happily accept. There is still so much I don’t really know…”

Dyne grinned. “Sounds good. For now, let’s head inside. I think I smell breakfast…”

* * *

Breakfast was as hearty as anything Vyse could hope for; his mother had arrayed a wide assortment of sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast that went above and beyond her usual offerings. She always made a larger meal after a successful raid but there were more mouths to feed than usual. Aika had joined them, eager to regale everyone with further stories of the raid and indulge in Johanna Dyne’s fantastic cooking. Her recollection of Antonio placed him somewhere around the size of a small island now. Fina poked and prodded at her food at first but eventually ate with dainty delight. 

Under that roof, among family and good friends, Vyse felt content as ever. If the day was going to start this well, it was probably going to be one of the best he’d had in ages. Eventually, he glanced at Aika and stood up.  
  
“We should get going,” he noted. “We couldn’t have been the only people who saw everything yesterday. If we move too slow, some grubby scavenger will nab the prize before we can even set sail.”  
  
Aika stretched, cat-like but remained seated for the moment. “Guesso,” she said. “A stone like that’s gotta be worth tons of gold! We could buy anything we wanted!”  
  
Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. “Is that all you think about? Gold?”  
  
“Now, now,” Aika said seriously. “I bet Fina is thinking about it too. Right, Fina?”  
  
Their friend shifted bashfully. “Not really, no…”  
  
Aika seemed unconvinced. “You’re not even thinking a little bit about what you’d buy if you had, like.. ba-jillions of gold?”  
  
Fina blinked. Her head tilted in deep confusion. “I don’t… Buy? What do you mean? What is that?”  
  
Aika slipped right out of her chair in shock. Beneath the table, Pow barked before scurrying behind Vyse’s legs. “Fina... you seriously don't know what that means?!”  
  
The blonde woman wrung her hands together nervously and turned her gaze downwards.

“I... I'm terribly sorry,” she started. “I've never traveled before and so many things are new to me. Should…. Have I said something wrong? Do I need to know?”  
  
Dyne looked down at Aika from his seat at the table. “Please get off my floor,” he said before drinking some coffee. “Before there’s an Aika-shaped indent there forever.”  
  
Aika leapt to her feet and dusted herself off. She looked at Fina. “Buying something is.. Well, it’s.. You have gold and you give it to someone and they give you something else. Like at a shop or whatever.”  
  
“Some people barter,” Vyse noted to Aika. “Maybe there’s no need for gold wherever she’s from because people are trading instead. Seriously, you don’t need to make her feel bad about all this..”  
  
“Fina, you really don't get out much, do you?” Aika gave an exaggerated sigh.  
  
“I’m sorry.. I didn’t know…”  
  
Vyse took a step forward and grinned at his new friend. “Nothing to apologize for,” he said. “Aika’s just being dramatic. Though if you’re going to be traveling…”  
  
“Yes, I should learn more,” Fina said before Vyse could finish. “It’s why I won’t be joining you to fetch the moonstone. Your father agreed to educate me some more about Meridia and the surrounding areas.”  
  
Dyne took a finishing sip of his coffee. “That I have, but aren’t you forgetting something?”  
  
Fina smiled. “Yes, you’re right,” she said before rushing to fetch her satchel and the fresh magic crystals she and Dyne crafted earlier. They rolled onto the kitchen table with an almost musical clinking and emanated a soft mixture of green and yellow light. Vyse blinked in surprise.  
  
“Are those sacri and electri crystals? Where’d you get those?”  
  
Aika leaned in to examine them even closer. “Vyse, these are _sacres_ and _electres_ crystals,” she said excitedly. “Fina, are you sure you want to give us these?”  
  
The young woman nodded. “Your father and I shaped them this morning,” she explained. “And yes, please do take them. Ruins like that… are bound to be dangerous.”  
  
“I can channel a sacri spell but these are even stronger than that,” Aika said. She began to transfer the crystals to her own pouch. She felt their raw energy radiate in her hands as she did. “Damn, these are even better than anything you could find in a shop…”  
  
Vyse grinned. “You’re amazing, Fina,” he said. “Thank you. We won’t waste them.”  
  
Fina gave Vyse a shy bow in acknowledgement, face warm thanks to his compliment.  
  
“That’s not all,” Dyne said before walking to the other end of the room and returning with two small bags. “You should take these as well. Part of your share from the raid on Admiral Ninny’s little boat.” 

He placed the bags on the table with a thud. A sound like clattering marbles rang out. Vyse quickly walked to one of the bags and opened it to see two refined moonstones—one blue and another red—shimmering before him. “These are…”  
  
“Already processed,” Dyne explained. “You need a set of your own; it’s too risky for the both of you to keep sharing. Aika, there’s something special in your bag.”  
  
That was all the redhead needed to hear before she went diving in to find a frosty cold moonstone flickering with violet light. “A purple moonstone?”  
  
“You’ve a bit more experience with magic than Vyse, so I’m giving it to you. It’ll pair well with your red stone. The power of fire and now the power of ice.”  
  
“I’ve never cast purple magic in my life,” Aika fretted. “I don’t know..”  
  
Fina took a step forward and placed a friendly hand on Aika’s shoulder. “You’ll be okay,” she said. “The longer you spend near the stone, the more its energy intertwines with your own. Manipulating the magic should start to make sense after some time with it.”  
  
“Exactly,” Dyne agreed. “Keep it in case you need to attune your weapons, and once you’re back you can practice a little.”  
  
Vyse and Aika scooped up their respective moonstones and set about collecting their weapons and gear before Aika raced off to check if their sloop was ready at the upper dock. She gave a winking salute as she left the Dyne household. Vyse found his goggle and snapped it on his face.

“Go on,” his father said. “Sling your hook and be off. Just remember: success is dependent on effort. No matter what you run into, keep pushing through and you’ll reach the end.”  
  
“It’s a moonstone, Dad,” Vyse said sheepishly. “Not some fancy Imperial vault.”  
  
There wasn’t any real expectation of trouble on Shrine Island. Some sailors were keen on saying it was haunted but Vyse knew better than to worry about something like that. His resolve faltered only slightly as he glanced at Fina. The young woman seemed a monument to worry as she watched the rogue gather his remaining supplies. He approached her and grinned once more.  
  
“We’ll be back before you know it,” he said. “Try not to get into any trouble, yeah?”

* * *

The _Serpent_ soared through Northern Meridia. The Valuan flagship was flanked on either side by two _Meteoro-_ class battleships advancing southward, their steel hulls and sturdy frames cutting through windy sky rifts on approach to their target. The _Serpent_ ’s frame was the darkest of the three with its reinforced blacksteel hull and deep purple paint job. It was nothing like the Mid Ocean’s most recent Valuan guest. The _Cygnus_ had been lush and indulgent. Its golden hull shone resplendently in the Silver moonlight. The _Serpent_ was like the night itself made incarnate: austere, powerful, and all too terrifying. It was a warship through and through.  
  
Lord Admiral Galcian stood imposingly upon the bridge. His massive height and stern gaze combined with a large cloak—bearing the grey ribbons denoting his position as commander of all of Valua’s armed forces—encircling his body. The combined effect gave the appearance of a bat or perhaps a vulture upon a perch. This was stressed by his hard-featured face; sharp eyebrows and a fine goatee. He looked ever-forward at the approaching horizon, waiting for his prey to appear. 

_Victor Dyne..._  
  
Galcian knew the man by reputation. A rebellious turncoat transformed into one of the most powerful and adored Blue Rogues in the skies. He had made Meridia his dominion and the Empire had been content to let the pirate have his little kingdom. Let him rule over nothing of consequence; whatever raids he might bring to bear against Valuan ships were little more than a petty child’s temper tantrum. A lone pirate, no matter how long-survived, could not match the Empire’s might.  
  
That state of affairs had changed. Not because he’d struck at an admiral since by all accounts Alfonso had proven little more than the useless welp he always had been, but because Victor Dyne had stolen something that Galcian wanted. No, perhaps it was something he _needed_ …

Vice-Captain Ramirez stood obediently at his lord’s side. The young man moved a stray portion of his silver-blonde hair from his sight and stared out at the horizon with a fervor equal to his master’s. Galcian turned to regard him. So loyal. So perfect a subordinate. Circumstances had conspired to deliver the man to his side, some of those circumstances spurred on by Galcian’s own hand, and he was ever so pleased at the outcome. Ramirez was the finest weapon in his arsenal. More than the _Serpent_ , more than the entire Armada combined. 

Yet, as he watched the man, Galcian spotted an uncharacteristic shift in weight. The most miniscule sign of hesitation and worry. A telltale vestige of the past, of the weakness that he’d work so hard to stamp from the young man’s spirit.  
  
“We cannot falter now, Ramirez,” Galcian said. He omitted the man’s rank intentionally. Whether it was out of a general sense of closeness or something darker mattered little. “When we claim our prize, our path will be secure. A better future, a stronger future. For everyone.”

“Yes, my lord,” Ramirez replied. He took an apprehensive step towards the bridge’s glass viewport.  
  
Galcian slipped a hand from beneath his cloak and rested it firmly on Ramirez’ shoulder. The young man froze for a moment before standing up taller.  
  
“It’s alright,” Galcian’s baritone snaked into Ramirez’ ears. The young man felt the fire in his heart burn with increased fervor and surety. “Are you close enough to sense her now?”  
  
Ramirez reached out with his mind and feelings. Far off in the blue sky, he felt a dot of silver light.  
  
“She’s there,” he confirmed. 

“Good,” Galcian said. He removed his hand from Ramirez’ shoulder and shirked it under his cloak. He took a step towards his Vice-Captain. “We’ve waited a long time for this moment..”

* * *

With the wind at their back, it took Vyse and Aika little less than an hour to reach Shrine Island. Their modest sloop, “Windmill” Isle’s shared community vessel, listed through the temperate Meridian skies without much excitement save for a brief passage by an aged fishing vessel with a green hull. It had been so focused on its task that the two ships risked colliding. Slowly but surely the lighthouse-like ruins of Shrine Island—odd stone exterior partly covered with mold and moss—drew closer until Vyse safely guided the sloop to a rest and dropped anchor upon the island's surface.  
  
“You know,” he said as he hopped off the sloop. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here even though it’s so close.”  
  
Aika stepped carefully to land and suppressed a shudder as she regarded the tall structure. She eyed it suspiciously in contrast to Vyse’s curious examination.  
  
“That's because of ghosts and wizards and stuff,” she said with some seriousness. A mixture between belief in the legends and her own considerable fortitude battling back and forth. “You remember the stories that Granny Hofman used to tell? ‘If you don’t behave, them spirits will slink out and steal ya!’”  
  
Vyse laughed. “She has a different version of that every month. Talk back to your parents and a giant arcwhale will swallow you. Leave your room messy and Daccat’s skeleton crew will whisk you off for eternity.”

“Exactly! There could be tons of monsters in there or whatever.”  
  
“Think of the prize though, Aika.”  
  
“I am thinking of the prize..”  
  
“You’re thinking about the gold.”  
  
“Same thing.” Aika said with some annoyance. “But just look at this place! It’s older than old! It’s from _before_ , y’know?”  
  
The shrine was certainly the oldest thing Vyse had ever seen. Its tall spire extended up high enough to touch the clouds. The stone didn’t seem any less reliable than a modern day building but it wore the yellowing of centuries. An elongated pathway extended from where the sloop was docked, creating a bridge over a large pool of water dotted with silver moonstone growths and full of calmly drifting fish. He walked closer to the water to examine it when he noticed that it was flowing towards the shrine itself. Peering up, he saw where the moonstone must have landed; a massive scorched hole had been punched into the base of the tower. Water cascaded through, falling downwards into the ruins.  
  
“Moonstone must have caused that,” Vyse said with a hint of concern. “It must be huge. But if there’s tons of water in there, that’s a problem.”  
  
Aika nodded. “Especially since I can’t swim,” she noted. “But if it caused _that_ … Moonstones that big are super rare! We gotta go and get it.”  
  
“As if either of us could pass up a good treasure hunt,” Vyse remarked. “Guess we should get to it!”  
  
At that, he was off. He ran down the stone path with Aika in tow before stopping at the ruin’s entrance. The doors were made of an old metal almost like bronze. There was no wear upon the door, no indication of time’s passage. It looked pristine as any ship off a Valuan factory line. Strange etchings and unknowable glyphs were traced upon it that called to mind, if only for a moment, the various embellishments on Fina’s jewelry.  
  
“So strange,” Aika said as they both approached. As they did, the top and bottom halves of the door separated and retracted to both sides of the frame. “What in the Moons?!”  
  
Vyse approached the now open doorway. “Old World magicks maybe?” If so, that could mean other things lurking inside. “We keep going, but let’s be careful too.”  
  
The pair entered into a large atrium with a spiral path descending downwards from the landing they’d entered upon. Muted sunbeams fell through a semi-opaque skylight up above; the light wiggled through a pseudo-glass material that Vyse had never seen before. The bottom levels were submerged in water that continued to fall from the hole outside. Beneath the surface, a glimmering meteor slightly larger than a cannonball sent rays of silver light shimmering throughout the makeshift pool.  
  
“Look! The moonstone is at the bottom!” Vyse pointed at the glistening rock although it was hard to miss.  
  
Aika took a greedy step forward, rubbing her hands together. “It’s so bright,” she exclaimed. “The only problem is reaching it. There’s so much water; how are we supposed to get that thing up and out of here?”  
  
Vyse surveyed the chamber closer. A strange array of stone statues made of similar but more argent material to the entrance door stood in a silent watch over the interior but as he scanned the chamber, something else caught his eyes. Doors underneath the water. An idea flashed into his mind, creative and risky.  
  
“Those doors below,” he explained. “If they’re like the door we came through, and if they lead outside… maybe we could drain the water out. That way we can just carry the moonstone out of here.”  
  
“You’re right,” Aika noted. “As long as the stone doesn’t get sucked out too.”

Vyse rubbed his chin in thought. “It’s slammed down there pretty hard… I don’t think that’ll be a problem..”  
  
Aika pointed down the spiral stairs and past the strange assortment of statutes. “Looks like we need to head through that door first,” she said. “And if we find loose treasure along the way…”  
  
“A true rogue at heart,” Vyse clapped his best friend on the shoulder. “Just don’t take so much that we can’t carry the stone.”  
  
They proceeded downwards and began to walk past the odd statues. They almost looked like crabs. Small half-shelled bodies with a silver crystal underneath; three fingered hands hung at their side. A few of them littered the path downward. Vyse had half a mind to inspect them further but found himself distracted by a mosaic on one of the walls. An abstract image of the Silver Moon and its energizing light. Had this place been some type of church or place of worship? A center for an Old World community to gather? It was difficult to say but a closer look about the space revealed more mosaics; a sprawling mass that seemed to be a city, people at play with some type of silvery companions at their sides. One mosaic appeared to be a large sphere with colored circles in the center. A tribute to the Moons perhaps.  
  
Vyse stumbled. In his distraction, he’d tripped over one of the statues. He looked its lifeless shape up and down again before realizing that he’d somehow lost track of Aika. Spinning about, he saw her further down the stairs. An altar bearing some type of offering rested on the landing near the doorway. As the redhead approached, torches of white-blue fire leapt to life. She jumped away with a startled yelp.  
  
“What is with this place?!” 

Her exasperation faded as she looked at the offerings on the altar. Silver moonstones so pure that they might as well be refined by the most capable scholars. Sparkling berries with magical specks of latent power. She recognized them as moonberries, the rarest of all fruits said to ignite the mind to new possibilities. If they were indeed as old as the ruins, they hadn’t aged a day. Whatever power they held had preserved them over the eras. Another one of the strange statues rested nearby.  
  
Aika looked at the offerings covetously. She spared a mischievous glance about. 

“Don’t mind if I do,” she said as she reached for one of the silver moonstones.  
  
Vyse watched as his friend prepared to purloin the offerings. He spared a glance at the statues again. They looked sturdier in the blue-silver torchlight. Their crystal centers bore a glow that wasn’t present before. 

His eyes narrowed. An Old World place of worship with offerings to the Moons. Stories of ghosts and monsters. No stories of anyone ever diving into the shrine and returning with treasures.  
  
 _Because no one survives…_  
  
He began to rush towards his friend. “Aika, wait!”  
  
The moment seemed to last an eternity as Aika’s hand grasped about a silver moonstone and spare berry. She looked back at Vyse in confusion. “What?”  
  
It was too late. The statues began to glow with renewed purpose, the energy of their crystal bodies building until they hovered off the ground. The collective turned towards Vyse and Aika and began to advance with slow, steady purpose. The one nearest the altar reached out to clamp its odd claws around Aika’s wrist.  
  
“What the hell?! Get off me!”  
  
The rogue began to wriggle in the “statue’s” grasp. Vyse drew his cutlass and made a wild slash at the automaton’s arm as he finally reached Aika. His red moonstone blade cut right through it. Aika shook the severed arm off and pocketed her ill-gotten loot.  
  
“We’ve got something a little worse than spirits to deal with, Aika!”  
  
The young woman was already drawing her boomerang as more of the strange golems hovered closer and began to swipe and stab at the pair. She slashed a strong two-handed rend upwards that cracked into one of their silver crystals and sent her foe clattering to the ground. Side by side, the two adventurers hacked and slashed as row after row of silver automatons hovered closer in their mindless bid to punish their shrine’s intruders. For each that fell, another seemed to replace it.  
  
Vyse cut another one of them in half. “We’re not gonna last,” he yelled with a nod at the nearby door. “This way!”  
  
Aika brought her red moonstone to bear and tossed a crackling of _pyri_ spells at her enemies. It didn’t halt their progress entirely but the raging magical flames cracked more than a few of the automatons’ silver crystals and sent them crumbling to the ground. She ran with Vyse toward the door.  
  
“Let’s get out of here!”

* * *

Fina smiled as she stepped out from the underground port into Pirate Isle’s topside village. Dyne’s lesson mixed geography and recent history for a brief but comprehensive lecture on current affairs. Not all of it was necessary; the Elders explained some fundamentals before her departure and Dyne’s lesson confirmed portions of it. The world was fractured into various petty empires and other nations—the most dangerous and enduring being the Valua Empire—and some of the lands under certain moons were completely isolated. Her vessel, shot down by Admiral Alfonso’s ship, was meant to help her bypass any natural hazards and expedite her quest. That was impossible now, so Dyne’s breakdown of trade routes and safe skies was essential.  
  
There was an irony to the situation though. Fina had left home secure in her understanding of the rest of the world. She knew history extending far into the Old World, had access to magicks that were all but forgotten, and understood many fundamental truths that Dyne hadn’t a single notion of. In different circumstances, she might be teaching him or Vyse about any number of things. Instead, most of her knowledge was not applicable in the world as it was now. She stroked an idle hand over her silver bracelet and smiled. Silently, she thanked the Moons that her initial misfortune had been replaced with kindness and charity. Whatever the world was now, whatever darkness and danger it held, there were still pockets of something good and decent. That knowledge lifted a weight off her shoulder.  
  
 _Perhaps I can do this after all…_  
  
Fina strolled into the village square to find Jimmy and his young compatriots playing a game of tag and for a moment, her mind thought of simpler times. Of silly games and wondrous thoughts. Of companionship and laughter. Where was he now, she wondered. What had he found down here and why had her dear friend not returned home? All she could do was hope that he, too, had found kindness somewhere in these skies and that they would meet again soon.  
  
Her musings ceased when Alan ran right into her. Jimmy caught up and tagged his shoulder. The young girl in the yellow dress—Lindsi, that was her name—followed in their wake.  
  
Fina giggled. “Careful now,” she said warmly. “If you run too fast, you could tumble right down.”  
  
Jimmy backed away and stood up taller. “You’d just use your magic on us. Right, Miss Fina? Like you did with Vyse!”

“How did you do that?” Lindsi shifted in place as she looked wide-eyed at Fina. “You didn’t even have a moonstone!”  
  
“Oh, it was nothing special… Besides I’m sure I won’t need to use magic if you’re more careful right?”  
  
It was a leading question. Somehow, although she’d never interacted with kids in her entire life, Fina was a natural when talking to the trio. She must’ve picked up a few cues from those distant play-sessions as a child back home. They all nodded bashfully.  
  
“We can play something slower,” Alan said with a slight wheeze.  
  
“Hide and seek!” Jimmy made the decision immediately. 

“Will you play with us, Miss Fina? Will you pleeeease?”  
  
The children encircled her in a merry-go-round of “will you” and “yeah, yeah please” until Fina broke into a beaming smile. “How could I say no to Jimmy and his brave pirate crew?”

Lindsi giggled. “You gotta find us! Close your eyes and count back from this many!” She flashed both her hands twice. “This many” seemed to be twenty seconds.  
  
“Uh, alright..” Fina covered her eyes. The children scattered throughout the village as she began to count backwards. It was a silly but comforting thing to know that the children here seemed to play games that she knew from her own youth. Of course, her version of the game had been more magical.  
  
 _Eighteen.. Nineteen.. Twenty.._ _  
__  
_Fina opened her eyes and called out. “Ready or not, here I come!”

* * *

Galcian stood upon the _Serpent_ ’s bridge and gazed out at the slowly approaching island. To the casual observer it was little more than a quaint Meridian hamlet. Wooden houses, a modest lookout point, a charming windmill. There were no signs of pirate activity; no ships docked nearby or visible defenses. 

It was, in fact, too perfect. 

The Lord Admiral sneered. So that’s how Dyne of the Blue Storm had eluded capture for so long. Attacking what he might and then hiding away to play lord over a miserable spit of nothing in the Mid Ocean. Galcian would have admired the cleverness of it all if not for the responsible party. Be it Blue Rogue or Black Pirate, all who committed to lawlessness in his skies would be crushed.  
  
“We’ll be in range shortly, Your Excellency,” Ramirez shared at his side. “I’m sure of it now. She’s there.”  
  
“As if I doubted you,” Galcian affirmed. 

Yes, the young man had proven a most useful instrument.. and so easy to manipulate. Like a fine sword or any other well-made tool; beautiful and dangerous and ever so valuable. 

“Have the gunners prepare to fire across the island. Calibrate torpedoes to detonate above the village. We will shock them into submission.”  
  
“Give me leave to lead the ground invasion,” Ramirez requested.  
  
“But of course,” Galcian said. “Take a contingent of your preferred men. Retrieve the girl but capture the Air Pirates as well. We'll need to interrogate them when we return to Valua. It is imperative we know what she might have told them.” 

He gave the briefest pause. “Sink their ship as well. Its very existence is a mockery.”  
  
Ramirez nodded. “And if they resist?”  
  
Galcian spared a moment in thought.

“I doubt they’d be so foolish as to resist,” he said. “But if so… Burn the village and kill them all. Let the bodies rot in the sun and leave one of our flags to set an example for others who may defy us.”  
  
Ramirez saluted his lord fervently before turning on his heels to make ready for the assault.  
  
 _Fina… Here I come…_

* * *

Vyse and Aika ran out onto the clouds. At least that’s what it seemed like for a moment. The two rogues stumbled through the shrine door and onto a clear walkway. The lower cloud layer rested beneath them. Aika looked down first and came to screeching halt before Vyse stopped beside her.  
  
“What’s wrong?” He asked, panting ever so slightly from their hasty escape. “You know, besides the weird death statute monsters…”  
  
“Vy… Vyse…” Aika pointed down. 

Her friend followed in the direction of her finger until he also was looking at the “ground” beneath him. A ground that seemed to be essentially nonexistent. 

Vyse gasped slightly before pressing his foot down. A strange rippling shot through the pathway as if his foot was a stone tossed into a still lake. A slight shifting of energy caused a sparking sound, mellow and magical. They weren’t standing on the clouds; they were standing on something even stranger.  
  
“It’s like glass,” Vyse noted before bringing his foot down again. Unlike glass, however, the floor beneath gave the slightest bend. He took a knee and touched it. The path gave off a hint of magical thrumming, a tight collection of silver energy that shot back and forth. “This is… Aika, I think this is… silver magic!”  
  
Aika dragged her foot along the floor, which left a flutter in its wake. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she was walking on air but this didn’t feel like the airy swirl of blue magic. It was subtle and beautiful. Looking down the “path,” she realized that each section connected to large stone platforms. 

“Is this really what the Old World was like? Moving statues and magic walkways?”  
  
Vyse stood up. “It’s amazing that it’s lasted so long,” he said. “You can hardly keep a good ship going without burning through moonstones but this stuff’s been here for centuries.”  
  
They walked along the pathway, each step leaving pulsating rivulets of silver energy behind them. When they reached the first platform, Aika slowed down. “Vyse, I…”  
  
She looked down at her arm where the silver automaton had grabbed it and saw a bleeding gash upon her forearm. In the chaos of their escape and their enraptured curiosity at their new surroundings, Aika had dismissed the pain but there was no ignoring it anymore. She slumped to the ground.  
  
Vyse quickly knelt beside her. “Hey! Don’t give up on me now, Spitfire..”   
  
“Wouldn’t dare do that, Dreamer,” she offered in return.  
  
Vyse panicked for a brief moment. He had no skill with green magic. Hell, he was only getting a grasp on red and blue magic after all these years. He wasn’t sure how to help Aika until his gaze fell upon her pouch. He rifled about before finding one of the freshly-made sacres crystals that Fina gave them earlier in the morning.  
  
“You know the drill, Aika,” he said. “It’s gonna tingle a bit.”   
  
“Hit me with it.”  
  
Vyse took the crystal and held it above Aika’s wound. He crushed it within his hand, the “glass” shattering harmlessly and flaking off into insubstantial shards that flew into the wind. All that was left was the fresh green magic that Fina had imbued into the crystal. It burst from its container and suffused them both in emerald light. The majority of it collected into a sort of droplet that fell upon Aika’s wound. She winced slightly but within a moment, her injury was gone. Slowly, she rose to her feet.  
  
“Guess Fina was right to worry,” she said. “We’ll have to really thank her when we get back.”  
  
“Gotta figure out how to reach that moonstone first,” Vyse said, reaching out to give Aika’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Don’t scare me like that… and maybe be a little careful about the treasure you pick up in mysterious ruins?”  
  
Aika grinned, reaching into her pouch to procure one of the moonberries she’d swiped. “C’moooon,” she said. “It’s not like you find this stuff every day.”  
  
“Fine,” Vyse said with a sigh. “But nothing else, okay?”  
  
Aika saluted him dramatically. “Yessir, captain, I promise to be a good little pirate from now on.”  
  
They continued down the pathway, which curved about until it connected with the shrine’s side again. A nearby door leaked water and buckled from the pressure. Vyse gestured in its direction.  
  
“There’s our drain,” he said approaching the door. “We open this and the water will run right out and down into the sky.” He carefully pulled out his cutlass and tapped the door. It didn’t open. “Hmm..”  
  
Aika spoke behind him. A small crystal-like device was embedded into the wall. “So… I know you said not to touch anything else but I think this is the, uh… open button.”  
  
Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess there’s only one way to find out,” he said. The pirate took a step away from the door before giving his friend a thumbs up.  
  
Aika pressed at the crystal, which slipped deeper into its indentation upon the wall. The nearby door slipped open and a torrent of water began to rush out. It started with a powerful burst like a waterfall before eventually coming to little more than a trickle. 

The pair laughed, exchanging a quick high five. 

“Looks we’re grabbin’ a moonstone,” Vyse said cheerily.  
  
As they entered the water-slicked bottom levels, the fresh moonstone shone bright enough that they shielded their eyes. There it was, resting in a small crater in the ground with only a small pile of debris nearby. Large, silver chunks mashed together into a round cannonball-like shape. It beamed light about the lower chamber that reflected off what little water remained on the ground. Vyse approached it, eying the stone with admiration.  
  
“It'll be an adventure and a half just to get that outta here,” he noted.  
  
“But worth it!” Aika’s mind was ever-focused on whatever riches they’d gain afterwards. She smiled. “You know, aside from the death monsters and the water this was actually pretty easy!”  
  
Vyse stepped forward to give the moonstone a little tug. “We might need to bring the sloop down low and roll it out,” he mused. Somewhere behind him, the sound of clattering rock began to roil throughout the chamber.  
  
Aika noticed the cause first. “Ah! Vyse…” Her eyes fell on the nearby debris. The stone pieces were pulling in on each other and assembling into some sort of shape. “Those rocks…”  
  
Leaping to a battle stance, Vyse brandished his cutlasses at the ready. “Aika, get back!”  
  
The redhead found her place at his side, boomerang in one hand and red moonstone in the other. Together they watched as the debris rose into a different sort of living statue. Like the strange automatons above, its “center” consisted of a collection of silver moonstones housed under a rocky shell. It soon had legs and an arm. Another formed after that resembled a ship’s cannon more than any normal appendage. It roared with a grinding shriek like the sound of glass scraping against another shard. 

With a surprising speed, it scrambled at the pair and rammed a fist down at them. The rogues leapt aside and watched as the strange sentinel’s blow created a fresh crater in the floor.  
  
“Aika, crash and burn! You know the drill!”  
  
“Right!”  
  
Aika immediately began to channel pyri spells in rapid succession just as she had during their battle with Alfonso’s war beast. The fire magicks snapped and kicked up dust until the space before the sentinel was a mix of smoke and dirt. Vyse slipped into the cover, one eye closed and the other protected by his goggle. In the chaos, he pressed forward and cut a rushing slash at the collection of crystals at the automaton’s center. One of them chipped and fell to the ground. The sentinel stumbled but as the smoke cleared, it tossed a backhanded strike at Vyse that sent the young man tumbling. He rolled a distance until coming to a stop upon his knees.  
  
“Damn! That thing… hits hard…”

As if to prove the point,, the sentinel turned towards Aika and raised its cannon-like arm. A conglomeration of heat and death-charged silver magic boiled inside the “barrel” of its cannon. 

Aika froze. “Not good! Not good!”  
  
Pushing himself to his feet, Vyse made a breakneck dash towards the sentinel, twirling both his cutlasses into firm grips and hacking them at the cannon arm. Their red moonstone blades crashed against the golem’s hard shell. Vyse shoved with all his might just in time to redirect its aim upwards. A hot beam of molten magic slammed into the staircase, sending a small collection of its lesser crab-like brethren smashing lifelessly to the bottom floor.  
  
“Not sure if our usual tricks are gonna cut it here!” Vyse leapt to make another slash at the sentinel’s crystals. Another broke off and clattered to the ground. The _wet_ ground. 

He turned to Aika. “The floor!”  
  
“What about it?!”  
  
Vyse made a vague gesture with his hands that could charitably be called “magical.” The sentinel swung at him once more and he ducked and danced between the strikes.  
  
“The moonstone! Ice!”  
  
“Why didn’t you just say so instead of flapping your arms!?” Aika barked with irritation. “You might want to take a little step back though. I’ve never done this!”  
  
Vyse leapt away from the sentinel. The golem raised its cannon again and aimed once more at Aika. The redhead was focused entirely on the cold purple stone in her palm. 

_Moons, give me strength!_  
  
Slowly but surely the water beneath the sentinel began to turn slick until a sharp pillar of ice shot up and stabbed itself into the cannon-arm. It was a surprisingly competent _crystali_ spell considering that Aika had never done a lick of purple magic in her life. She looked at the living statue, its arm pinned but still brimming with glowing energy. Vyse slipped towards the golem and chipped away another silver crystal. The stone being groaned and writhed. The energy in its arm continued to gather.  
  
Aika had a flash of inspiration. She reached into her pouch and found the electres crystal offered to her earlier that morning. “The arm! The cannon!” She cried out to Vyse and lobbed the crystal at her friend. He caught it and immediately understood. 

Crystal in hand, he dodge towards the pinned cannon and shoved the crystal inside before rushing away. The cannon’s molten energy radiated heat and death, melting the _crystali_ pillar. Right as the sentinel was about to fire, an electric explosion burst inside the cannon and blew it into rocky bits.  
  
Vyse took the opportunity and rushed at the sentinel. He swung his cutlasses in a madcap flurry at the remaining crystals on its body. One fell off, then another. The golem groaned and roared, and as Vyse leapt up for one final blow he cried out the first thing that came to mind. 

“Cutlass fury!” _Slink!_ His blades cut the last crystal into broken halves and the golem fell piece by piece to the floor. They’d won. 

All was silent until Aika doubled over with uncontrollable laughter.  
  
“Oh my Moons! Did you just… Hahahahahaha! I can’t believe you! That’s what Jimmy says when he…! You gotta be friggin’ kidding me!”  
  
Vyse blinked in confusion, adrenaline in his blood leaving him in a stupor. “What?”  
  
Aika swiped her boomerang around. “Cutlass fury! Hahahahaahaha!”  
  
Her friend cleared his throat. “It just sorta.. It felt like something to say! It was a _big_ moment, y’know! In all the serial books, the hero says something cool in the big moment!”  
  
It took another minute of laughing before Aika composed herself. “Okay, okay, okay,” she said as she looked towards the sentinel’s fallen form. “What even _was_ that thing?”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “Some type of Old World guardian like the ones…” He looked upwards to find that the remaining statue beings had crumpled as well. “Well, the ones that were up there. I think smashing this thing kinda broke them too somehow..”  
  
The glowing moonstone enticed Aika. She walked over to examine it.

“Damn, it really is huge,” she said happily. “Moons, that was great! Treasure hunting is definitely the best part of being an Air Pirate!”  
  
“Definitely worth going through all that trouble at least,” Vyse agreed. “We won't have to worry about fuel for a while!”  
  
“And we can sell the extra shards!” Aika’s eyes glowed with joyous greed.  
  
Vyse laughed. “Let’s get it to the ship. Can you imagine the look on everyones’ faces back home when they see what we found?”

* * *

Fina was two for three. She’d found Alan first, the boy had made the dubious decision to hide behind a sheet hanging on a clothesline and was almost immediately revealed when a gust of wind blew it aside. The young woman had cheerfully walked over to the lad and booped him on the nose before continuing her hunt around the village. It was tempting to simply spread her mind out and try to sense where Jimmy and Lindsi were hiding but she avoided the temptation. “No magic,” was one of the chief rules whenever playing games back home so it felt silly to break that rule here on the surface where only she had that advantage.  
  
Technically, Pow had found Lindsi. The girl had scurried to hide behind a tree nearby a stone monument in a small grove adjacent to the village square only to find that Pow had followed her. The huskra yipped and barked, giving away Lindsi's position. Fina slipped close to the bush and granted the girl a kind wave before she sulked off with Pow in tow. That left Jimmy…  
  
For a while Fina looked about the village square and found nothing. As time wore on, she wondered if Jimmy had slipped down into the underground dock. No, that didn’t seem right. Eventually, she spotted a track of muddy footprints leading towards Aika’s house. The door was ajar and Fina slipped inside innocently.  
  
“Oh my,” she said with affect. “I am just so tired from searching. I can’t find Jimmy anywhere. I guess I’ll just head over to this bed and take a nap.”  
  
A sniggering slinked from beneath the bed. The blonde haired woman tiptoed over before bending to peek underneath to find Jimmy hiding near a pile of forgotten clothes. She smiled. 

“I think I just won,” she said sweetly as she helped the young boy up from the floor.  
  
“Aww, I had a pretty good hiding spot too.”  
  
Fina nodded. “You really did!”  
  
A clamor began to sound outside of the house. A frantic voice. “Captain! Captain!”  
  
Fina and Jimmy looked at each other and tried to listen in. Captain Dyne’s muffled voice cut through the house’s walls. “Are you sure?! We gotta get everyone undergrou-”  
  
Boom! A series of explosions blasted above the village. Fina’s ears began to ring and she barely heard the other voices outside.  
  
“Women and children!” “Where’s…” “Bring… below! Back!” 

Another explosion cracked above the village and then another. Fina could swear she heard smaller cracks as well. Shots and steel. The rushing of armored men. She turned to Jimmy.  
  
“Get under the bed,” she ordered. “And whatever happens, stay underneath.”  
  
Jimmy began to protest. “But what if you..”  
  
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Under the bed! Hurry!”  
  
Without warning, Fina felt a tugging upon her mind and froze in place. _Impossible!_

She turned to look for somewhere to hide but it was too late. The front door burst open and a black clad soldier with matching helmet walked into the house. “There you are..”  
  
Jimmy shifted to get a better look from under the bed. He saw Fina pass a motion over her wrist before, and he had no idea how it happened, some type of silvery sword hovered at her side. She held out a fiery palm heated with red magic.  
  
“Stay back! I don’t want to hurt you but I’ll do what I must if you come closer!”  
  
The armored man shook his head sorrowfully. 

“Look what they’ve turned you into,” he lamented.   
  
Fina hesitated. “I.. I’m serious… Stay away!”  
  
Jimmy couldn’t stand it any longer. He sprung up from under the bed and made a dash at the Valuan soldier. “Leave her alone!”  
  
“No! Stop!” Fina’s cries fell on deaf ears as the young would-be-hero ran at the dark-clad Valuan. The soldier whipped a harsh backhand at the boy that sent him clattering to the floor.  
  
A protective instinct took hold of Fina and stirred her to action. The silver sword at her side flew out as if by thought alone and slashed the Valuan’s dark armet. The metal cracked and slowly began to break until the helmet split off the man’s head on either side.  
  
Dark and familiar eyes gazed back at her from beneath a mop of silver-blonde hair. A trickle of blood ran down the soldier’s forehead.  
  
“No… It can’t be…”  
  
“Oh, Fi,” Ramirez said darkly. “Don’t you remember what I used to say?”  
  
Before she could even respond, he closed the distance. He punched her directly in the gut. Fina felt the air get sucked out of her and the world began to grow black. She stumbled forward into his arms. Arms that had held her so many times before.

Just before she passed out, she heard Rami’s voice. He sounded vicious and so changed from the friend she knew.

“I’ll _always_ find you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh! I think this the largest chapter yet and it really feels like the first one where there's been room for a lot of story expansion and alteration. Some of that is small, such as moving an in-game conversation from Maramba here so that Fina's lack of worldly knowledge could be better stressed. We also added more embellishment to Shrine Island and altered some of the specifics to make it fall more in line with the Great Silver Shrine. 
> 
> There's also the biggest change: Fina and Ramirez meet much earlier here than in the game. Two things were really important to me; I needed to make Dyne a more present character before he and the crew are captured... and I think it's really crucial to start establishing our main villains early. That means a little more insight into Galcian's mind and drawing Ramirez directly into the action. It also allowed me to pay off some set up from chapter five. 
> 
> There's some other things as well. The Little Jack cameos vaguely so we can establish that Drachma is in Mid Ocean and we reveal Fina's weapon although we don't actually introduce Cupil. I love Fina and how sweet she is but I think it feels a little more current and modern to show her with a little bit of fighting competency. She's a magical priestess with a shape-shifting guardian and powerful magic; we need to believe that sending her to Arcadia all by herself made sense. It also meant giving her a "fight" of sorts with Ramirez.
> 
> There's some stuff here that I think is worn ground for novelization attempts but they also make way too much sense to omit or avoid out of stuffiness. The purple moonstone is such an easy Chekhov's gun that ignoring it would be silly (I think Aika might have the fastest purple magic growth in the game?) and we gotta have the hide and seek game with the kids. I tried to tie that into the games from Fina's youth with Ramirez and turn it into a little motif for the chapter.
> 
> But yeah, uh... more long notes since this one was big chapter but I feel really energized. Dunno when the next chapter will come since work will be busy next week and I am now officially an aunt! I'm "hearing" the characters more easily in my mind and I hope that shows here. If you like this chapter or have thoughts, I'd love to hear them in a comment. If you have read this far, I wanna let you know that you're awesome and I really appreciate it.


	9. Little Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes return home to find it in ruin. Dyne and the crew of the Albatross have been taken to Valua, where they are sure to be executed. Fina has been taken by the Empire as well, for reasons still unknown. Vowing to rescue their friends and family, Vyse and Aika set sail and immediately find their mission waylaid by danger and misfortune.

A foggy pallor had permeated the Mid Ocean sky, obscuring its pleasing blue with a heliotropic haze. It wasn’t entirely uncommon for sudden changes to claim the skies of Arcadia but that was the sort of thing you’d expect in the roiling South Ocean or the voltaic Valuan continent. The gloom wasn’t so much as to halt navigation but as Vyse and Aika guided their modest sloop back towards “Windmill Isle” the pace slowed as the wind abated. Fortunately, the freshly recovered moonstone’s brilliance cut through the gloom. It didn’t completely solve the impediment but it helped. And so their sloop listed homeward guided by silver light.

“Do you think everyone will believe us when they learn we battled a twenty foot tall stone… thing with a fire blasting arm?” Aika raised her hand up and let it trail through the fog.  
  
Vyse turned from the helm and smirked mischievously at his friend. 

“Is that the size you’ve settled on for your version of the story?” He chuckled. “Y’know, if you keep exaggerating stuff whenever you tell folks about our, uh.. misadventures.. they’re never gonna believe you when the big stuff happens.”  
  
“This is big stuff,” Aika protested. “In the last few days, we raided a Valuan admiral’s flagship and slew his lightning shooting warbeast, rescued Fina… who for all we know is some type of princess… and we just went on a treasure hunt through Old World ruins full of rock.. machine.. thingies.”

“Point taken,” Vyse replied. “But isn’t that already more than enough?”

Aika huffed. “Eighteen feet.”  
  
“Thirteen,” Vyse counter proposed.  
  
“Seventeen and a half.”  
  
“Fifteen.”  
  
“Fine,” Aika relented. “Fifteen! But you gotta back me up on it this time! Deal?”  
  
Vyse rolled his eyes. “When don’t I have your back? Aika, you could jump into the Deep Sky right now and I’d dive in too.”  
  
The sentiment brought some color to Aika’s face. The redhead played with her fingers bashfully. She’d known Vyse essentially all her life—that held double true after Captain Dyne all but adopted her—and there wasn’t any doubt that he’d do pretty much anything for her. But when he said it aloud like that? A strange and uncharacteristic sheepishness set in.  
  
“I know that,” she said nervously. “But I also don’t know why you tell me to cool it when it comes to telling stories. Everyone else does it! Chugging loqua and crowing that they fought off a dozen Valuan elite or whatever. Why don’t you ever do that?”  
  
Vyse sighed. 

“Because I want it to be true,” he said. “That’s more impressive. Besides, I’m _Victor Dyne’s_ son. All my life I grew up hearing the stories about what he did to be called ‘Blue Storm.’ Sinking three Black Pirate galleons —including Logan Longbrand and Mad Eye Oakes—off the side of Cape Claudia. Breaking the Siege of Nasil during the war alongside Centime the Tinker…”  
  
“You feel pressured,” Aika said astutely. “To live up to that name. To be Dyne’s son.”  
  
“It’s not that,” Vyse said, guiding the sloop forward still. “It’s that I want to make my own name. I don’t want to be “Dyne’s Son” for the rest of my life. I want to be _me_ , y’know? I don’t want to punch up the stories to make them sound bigger than they were. I want our stories to actually _be_ bigger.”  
  
Aika nodded sympathetically. “We’ll get there,” she said. “It’s getting close to the time that we’ll head out on ou-”  
  
 _WOOSH!_ The wind churned as a dark _something_ rushed above them through the hazy sky. It pressed with such speed that the fog shifted aside to reveal the same green-hulled ship they’d passed on the way to Shrine Island. Small but sturdy, it lowered altitude enough that Vyse could spot a dark flag emblazoned with grey-blue accents calling attention to the centerpiece: a black hand grasping a swordfish. Vyse narrowed his eyes. It initially seemed like a fishing vessel but he could see a row of impressive cannons along the side. Was a Black Pirate roaming the Mid Ocean?  
  
“Hey, you bastard!” Aika stood up and began waving her arms fruitlessly at the ship as it sailed off into the fog. “Watch where you’re going!”  
  
Vyse turned his attention forward once more. “Whatever that ship’s after, they sure as hell don’t care if they smash a small sloop like ours in the process.”  
  
“Some type of pirate?” Aika asked the question in Vyse's mind. They sailed further and the fog began to darken.  
  
“Who knows,” he said. “Doesn’t affect us either way. What matters is getting this moonstone back to…” 

He coughed without warning as the fog continued to turn black. Another cough and then another. “What the hell…”  
  
Aika squinted as her eyes began to burn. “Vyse, I don’t think this is…”  
  
“I know,” he said. “It’s smoke! Something’s burning!”  
  
It wasn’t a mystery for long. The sloop drew closer, bursting through the fog and more detail came into view; shattered homes, cratered courtyards. Even the windmill sizzled. The unmistakable and terrifying signs of cannon bombardment. Their home was not simply attacked; it was broken and shattered.  
  
Aika stepped towards the sloop’s bow. “I don’t… Vyse.. I don’t understand.. What happened?!”  
  
Ice flooded through Vyse’s veins. He knew exactly what happened: Valua had returned to punish the pirates that dared challenge them. 

* * *

Fina woke from a cold and black nothing, rubbing her eyes until the world came into view. This was the second time she’d awoken on a ship and it was far worse than the last. Her room, if it could be called such, was little more than four cold steel walls and a hardened bench pulling double duty as a bed. A locked door held her within. There had been no real conception of it back home but she understood it was a prison cell. Wherever she was, she was trapped once again. At the mercy of her captors.  
  
It took a moment for her to remember how she got here. The explosions, the fire, the screaming and barking of orders. A dark-helmeted soldier who found her with such ease, and who struck a helpless child down with a swift flick of his hand. Then she remembered more, and the horrible confusion of it all threatened to move her to tears.  
  
It had been Rami. Her dear, sweet Rami that played with her back at the shrine. Who had combed her hair and helped with her lessons. Who told her outlandish stories and legends of the Old World, some true and other imagined. Her lovely friend, sent before her to fulfill his duties. Her _only_ friend before Vyse and Aika. His features were only half familiar. The same hair —a blonde light enough that some might call it silver. The same handsome face she knew so well, adorned with piercing green eyes that matched her own. He used to screw it up into silly contortions or grumbling scowls that made her giggle endlessly as a child. All of that had been replaced with cold malevolence and a gravity unlike anything she could imagine. And yet, it was undeniably him.  
 _  
__“_ _Look what they’ve turned you into,”_ he had said amid the flames. “ _Look at the price they made us pay.”_ What had he meant? The Elders? The Valuans?  
  
 _What happened to you, Rami? Why are you here, among them? What have they done to you?_  
  
That had to be the explanation. She had not been among the surface-dwellers long but the Valuans’ cruelties were obvious. This had to be a mistake or some type of trick. They’d forced him into all of this. Manipulated or tortured him to serve at their side. That was what he was doing, right? Helping them, fighting like any other Valuan soldier?  
  
Then something else dawned on her: _He’s how they found me. That tug on my mind_ . _It was him!_

Fina took a breath and let her hand fall to her wrist where her silver bracelet rested. She still had _that_ and her magic didn’t need any catalyst like the surface dwellers seemed to require. Did they not realize she might still fight? Did they not expect it? 

Or maybe Rami hadn’t told them…  
  
She wanted to cry. It was all too much. She wanted Vyse to save her and take her away from everything. She wanted Aika to come to her rescue with a quip and a grin. But they weren’t here and might never find her. That separation hurt more than any dagger might. Her heart ached for Rami, yes. For reasons she struggled to understand, it ached most of all for Vyse and Aika. Those two wonderful stars she’d found in a dark and confusing night’s sky.

The door opened. Rami walked through. He frowned for the briefest of moments before leaning against the wall adjacent to Fina.  
  
“You should be grateful,” he said firmly. No greeting, no smile. “To be rescued from such filth.”  
  
Fina stood up. “Filth? They were _helping_ me!”  
  
The man made a swift gesture with his hand, cutting a glyph pattern within the air that Fina recognized as _drilnos_ magic. Fina felt the shift in energy but it was too late. Rami’s spell, one of the subtler forms of Yellow Magic, enfeebled her body and drained her strength. She stumbled back and fell to the cell’s bed. 

“Why are… you..” The words barely formed in her mouth. “These people are dangerous, Rami..”  
  
Rami stepped forward and kneeled closer to her. His eyes flashed with the slightest hint of sadness before he nodded in acknowledgement. 

“You’re right, Fi,” he agreed quietly. “The Valuans are a base and venal people. Most of them are no better than animals. They crave war and yearn for power. And yet…”  
  
“There is a man amongst them that could change everything,” he said devotedly. “The Elders were right; this world _is_ poisoned. But their solution? Foolish, shortsighted, arrogant. He’s none of those things…”  
  
Fina slowly rose to a seated position. Her body lacked the energy to do more than that. She examined Rami with a glassy and confused look.  
  
“What are you talking about?” She leaned back against the cell wall. “Our task is merely to retrieve the crystals so that what happened before won’t happen again..”  
  
Rami froze for a moment. He felt a flash of anger shoot through his body. It was too cruel, too hideous. 

“They never told you,” he realized. “You don’t even _know_ …”

He laughed, hard and devoid of warmth. “I suppose they said that retrieving the matrices was an act of mercy,” he said. “From an _enlightened_ people.”  
  
“Rami, can you imagine what would happen if these people found them? The destruction that they could cause?”

The young man rounded on Fina, pointing a histrionic finger at the woman. “You don’t _understand_ , Fi. This is what’s best for everyone! Silvite, Valuan, everyone!”  
  
Fina shrunk back nervously. “Rami, what have you told them?”  
  
The cell door creaked open and an imposing man stepped through. Sharp eyes and a face that might as well have been etched from stone. Fina felt a chill run up her spine. Rami fell to his knees before the Valuan.  
  
“Lord Galcian,” he intoned. “I was just preparing to bring the prisoner to your quarters.”  
  
Fina’s observed the two closely. Rami had responded to the man with such devotion, such deep fealty that everything she knew about her friend—his courage, his kindness—melted away. There was only Rami and his new master. 

Galcian waved a dismissive hand. Rami stood up swiftly.

“There is no need for that, Ramirez,” he said coolly. “I would be a poor host indeed if I didn’t find time for our guest.”  
  
“ _Ramirez_ ,” Fina wondered. _“Is that the name the Valuans have given you…?”_  
  
“I took the liberty of enfeebling her for the time being,” Rami said. “She’s more dangerous than she looks. We can take no chances. Especially with a priestess like her...”  
  
“Your initiative knows no bounds,” Galcian offered in reply. He paused for a moment. “Now, leave us.”  
  
Rami hesitated. “Sir?”  
  
“ _Now._ ”  
  
Rami cast a passing glance at Fina before saluting and exiting the cell. There was the slight hint of… something in his eyes. Nostalgia, perhaps? Or was it a flash of shame?

Galcian walked further into the room and examined Fina as if she were a rare painting at one of the Empress’ many estates.

“At last we meet, Fina,” he said. The young woman found the strength to sit taller, more defiantly. “You cannot imagine how much trouble the Armada has gone through to find you. Particularly after your… pirate associates interfered.” 

Fina’s eyes narrowed. “You know my name,” she said.  
  
“And far more than that,” Galcian replied. “I know what you are and why you’re here. Ah, but… where are my manners?” 

He gave a formal bow. Ingratiating yet not enough that he lost any of his nobility. A practiced gesture that he’d clearly perfected for his own purposes.  
  
“I am Galcian, Sworn Protector of Valua and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armada. I am under direct orders from Her Royal Highness, Empress Teodora, to find you and bring you back to Valua.”

“Even if that means taking me against my will,” Fina noted sharply. “The first thing that greeted me when I arrived in these skies was cannonfire from one of _your_ ships.”  
  
“Admiral Alfonso was overzealous,” Galcian offered carefully. “His misconduct will be dealt with in due time. But it is as you say: you will come with me to the capital regardless of your own desires.”  
  
“How hospitable of you,” Fina spat back.  
  
“You are one of the last remaining Silvites,” he said. “With valuable information. Your knowledge could ensure our nation’s security, and the entire world’s.”  
  
He extended a hand. Though he never understood the point of kindness, Galcian knew that its _appearance_ could be persuasive. “Will you help us?”  
  
Fina bristled. She turned her gaze away and said nothing. Galcian retracted his hand. 

“I see,” he crooned. “I did not expect you to help us without the proper motivation. However... I do believe we have the same goals. In time, you might learn to understand that.”  
  
He walked towards the cell door. “We will reach Valua in half a day. Do enjoy the comforts of the brig until then.”  
  
And with that, he was gone.

* * *

 _Desecrated._  
  
The word filled Vyse’s mind as the sloop drew near Pirate Isle’s docks. He’d grown up thinking that his home was untouchable. That for all of Valua’s might, they would never have the cleverness to catch Dyne of the Blue Storm or his crew and certainly not discover their hidden base. The Meridian skies belonged to the Blue Rogues and woe be to any Valuan vessel that strayed into their territory. He was wrong. Their home was not untouchable and seeing the topside shattered into a loose collection of craters and broken houses was as frightening a sight as it was necessary.  
  
It was necessary because neither he nor Aika knew anything about war. That was decades ago and something only found in tall tales of Dyne’s exploits or the vaguest veteran’s reminiscence. Well, now they knew something of war; they knew the pain of seeing everything they loved fractured and laid bare. For all the midnight raids on Valuan ships, for all the fights with the Empire’s soldiers and escapades dogging their forays into the Mid Ocean, the two rogues had never received a complete picture of their enemy’s depravity. The casual and callous way in which they wrought destruction on those weaker than them. 

Now they had.  
  
The windmill spun even as one of the blades smoldered. Aika’s house smoked; dull enough that the embers were clearly settling but that didn’t change the fact that her home, the home her father had built, was mangled. Gardens that brought food were little more than scalding divots, the town square itself a monument to Valua’s fury as nary a stone was left unscorched.

The two rogues walked dumbstruck into the village center. A black flag bearing the six-winged Valuan dragon of the Armada was planted into the ground. Vyse stared at it and trembled with anger. He walked over and slashed at it with his cutlass. The standard fluttered in the air and landed upon a burning heap of wood. He watched furiously as it was engulfed by the flame. There was no way that flag would be allowed to stand upon any island he called home. Or any island ever if he could help it.  
  
“Vyse? Aika? Is that you?” A weak voice called out near a pile of rubble. It was Ben. The reliable lookout wiped a smear of blood from his face and peered at the two young rogues.  
  
“Ben!” Vyse was at his side in an instant, nodding to Aika. The redhead was already fishing in her pouch for one of their spare sacres crystals. 

“What happened?! That flag.. It was Valuan.. Where’s Dad? Where are the others?”  
  
Aika cracked the crystal over the injured man and watched as a spiral of curative magic flittered down and across his body. The older man winced with pain.  
  
“Don’t move too much,” Aika said. “That’s enough to stave off bleeding but if you shift about, you could tear something open..” She’d been around injured pirates enough to know that magic didn’t solve everything.  
  
Ben took a breath. He looked woefully at Vyse. 

“It was the Lord Admiral, Galcian,” he explained. “I don’t know how but he found us. Shelled the island and took as many prisoners as he could. Some of us were left behind; the broken and wounded. Women, children…”  
  
Vyse looked frantically about the island before heaving a sigh. Ben was correct; there was no sight of anyone else. They all must have fled below.  
  
Aika leaned in, fear and concern etched on her face. “Punishment for piracy in Valua’s death,” she said. “Everything we’ve done? The crew… the captain…”  
  
“They took my father?” Vyse needed more information.  
  
Ben nodded. “Aye, and then some. I… saw the ships and..” Tears welled up in his eyes. “I tried to warn everyone in time.. I did, Vyse. I’m sorry! I should have been paying more attention!”  
  
He slammed a plaintive fist into the ground. Vyse reached out to take his crewmate’s hand.  
  
“Look at me,” he said firmly, sounding so much like his father. Ben turned his gaze to the young man. 

“This wasn't your fault. You did what you could and by the looks of it got most of the village to clear out. You _saved_ lives, Ben.”  
  
“I should ha-”  
  
“Enough of that,” Vyse commanded. “Coulda, woulda, shoulda… We can’t take back what happened. We just gotta figure out what comes next.”  
  
Ben wiped his eyes. “I’ll rest here for a while,” he said. “You should head underground to the others. Your mother was worried sick thinkin’ that maybe they blasted you two out of the sky.”  
  
Aika smiled at Ben. “We won’t keep her waiting,” she said. “Once you think you’re able, head on down and get some rest, okay?”  
  
The old sailor gave a nod before closing his eyes and sighing again. “Go on then.”  
  
It didn’t take Vyse and Aika long to reach the underground port. It didn’t bear the same scars and craters as the surface but it had clearly been ransacked. Scattered weapons and spilled coins signaled a “reclamation of assets” on the Valuan parts. Spare droplets of blood on the walkways hinted of brief battles. Vyse imagined it; Luke or maybe Timmus doing whatever possible to delay the Valuans as his father and the others secured a hiding place for the women and children. He thought that perhaps that meant the _Albatross_ ’ holds but that theory was quickly disproven.  
  
“Look,” Aika said. 

She pointed down at the dock where only a few curved frames and scorched armor plates gave the slightest hint that the _Albatross_ had ever existed. It rested at the dock, a tangled mess of crisped wood and fractured steel. The terror of Meridia, the flagship of the Blue Storm, was nothing more than tinder and scrap. 

They rushed down into the underground cave; the remaining townspeople were present along with a scant few crew. Most notable, Mabel sat to the side, balancing her blue moonstone dagger upon her finger.  
  
“Vyse! Aika!” The unmistakable cry of Johanna Dyne rang throughout the cavern. Heads turned as she ran towards her son and her all-but-adopted daughter and embraced them in a powerful hug. “Thank the Moons that you’re safe. I feared the worst..”  
  
She wiped tears from her eyes. “I kept thinking: what if they saw you? What if they shot down my boy…”  
  
Vyse returned the gesture before stepping away. “The fog was so thick,” he said. “If there were Valuans still prowling the Mid Ocean, they couldn’t have seen us.”  
  
Aika frowned at Johanna. “Are you okay? Ben said that they took the Captain and most of the crew.”  
  
Vyse’s mother nodded. “Victor and the others fell back down here,” she explained. “Most of us fled to his office; there’s a fake door there that leads to a small series of caves. And when it became clear they wouldn’t be able to fight back… your father surrendered.”  
  
That made Vyse bristle. “Dad gave up?”  
  
Johanna shook her head. “He made a choice,” she said. “To save us. To save the island from being blasted into little more than shards. It was either that or they’d kill everyone.”  
  
Aika frowned. “Blue Rogue code says to always challenge someone stronger than you.”  
  
“It also says to take treasures and be thankful,” Johanna said. She wasn’t a Blue Rogue but you didn’t marry Dyne of the Blue Storm without knowing the creed. “For you father? This island is a treasure. The people, his family. And he’d give anything to protect it.”  
  
“If they’re taken to Valua…” Aika left the rest to everyone’s imagination. A hangman’s noose? A firing squad? What kind of execution awaited a pirate in the Empire?  
  
Vyse paused. He looked around. There was Lindsi and Alan. What remained of the crew: Mabel, Peter, and even Matthew the deckswab. Granny Hofman. Landis’ wife Martha, Barbara the Gossip. Erinn the “Merchant,” although Valua had doubtlessly seized most of her goods. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not find Fina. His heart sank.  
  
“Mom, where’s Fina?”  
  
He and Aika had rescued her from Alfonso; the Admiral seemed to want to escape with her over anything else. He’d forgone jewels and other spoils all to get Fina to a lifeboat. And they’d saved her, welcomed her as a guest. It was the right thing to do. Vyse believed that. But if doing the right thing meant accidentally guiding friends and family into trouble’s path… was it really worth it? There was a sinking self-centered part of him that felt responsible for everything that had happened. And all because he and Aika had saved a kind young woman.  
  
Johanna spoke deliberately, holding back a twinge of pain. “They took her,” she said. “Along with your father and the others.”  
  
Aika gasped. “If she’s tried alongside them she could be executed too! But she hasn’t _done_ anything wrong!”

“I tried to save her,” a sour child’s voice cut through the conversation. Jimmy made his way over to the group, his face marred by a massive bruise.

“We were playing hide and seek. She tried to fight with some kind of sword and magic but there was this Valuan and I wasn’t just gonna do nothing! Blue Rogues help their friends.”  
  
Johanna smiled. “Yes, they do. But you nearly got yourself killed, young man!”  
  
Jimmy shrugged. “I couldn’t just hide,” he said.” I dunno what happened though; that Valuan smacked me good and when I woke up they were all gone.”  
  
Vyse knelt down to Jimmy's height and ruffled his hair. “Ya did good,” he said. “Sounds like you were very brave, which is what you’ll need to be if you ever want to be a sailor…”  
  
“Buuut… Vyse’s mom is also right,” Aika said. “No offense but you’re still a kid and rushing a Valuan soldier? That takes guts but it’s a miracle you’re alive.”  
  
“Alive…” Vyse began to pace in thought. “Well, I damn well know I’m not letting any of those Valuans have their way in all this.”  
  
“What to do you mean?” Aika seemed to understand but there was a hint of skepticism.  
  
“We fly out there and rescue everyone, of course,” Vyse said this as if it were no more difficult a task than running to a nearby island for a bag of sugar. “I know that won’t be easy, but it’s not _impossible_ . Nothing is!”  
  
“Yeah,” Aika agreed. “We can’t let them get away with this! Let’s show them what happens when you mess with Blue Rogues.”  
  
Johanna groaned. “Vyse, remember what your father says: acting quickly and rushing are two different things. I… I don’t think I can stop you from trying. But I can, as your mother, tell you to take some time and prepare.”  
  
Vyse tried to protest. Johanna held a finger to his lips.

“No talkback, mister,” she said sternly. “You and Aika need rest. I… don’t like the idea of you heading off but you have the look your father does when he’s about to do something stupid… and brave.”

His mother sighed. “I know I can’t stop you two from going…”  
  
Some distance away, Mabel flicked her knife up to catch the hilt. “They wouldn’t be alone,” she said, standing slowly. “I’m going too.”  
  
It would have been an impressive statement if the woman could stand and walk well. For all her boasting after returning from her neath-death experience, there had been little time to rest and recover. Green magic solved many problems, but coming back from your deathbed? It was bound to leave the even finest of rogues —of which Mabel was one—weak. Shaky in a fight at best.  
  
Vyse shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said. The voice of authority had snuck into his tone once again. “Fina saved you, sure, but you were knockin’ on the door to the great mystery. You need rest, Mabel.”

The raven haired raider hesitated. “They have Luke..”  
  
“I understand,” Vyse said. “I promise I’ll bring him back. Bring everyone back.”  
  
Aika nodded. “Everyone’s coming back. Besides, someone needs to look after the place. Right?”  
  
She winked at Mabel, who demurred a bit and smiled. “Suppose I can do that,” she said. “Ain’t but a few rogues here but with the village as it is now, who knows if scavengers or Black Pirates pay a visit looking to pilfer from the wreckage.”  
  
Jimmy slammed a fist into his hand. “If they do, we’ll beat them up,” he said. “I’ll punch them right in the nose! Bam!”  
  
Vyse smiled. “I don’t doubt it,” he said. “Just listen to what my mom and Mabel say, okay?”  
  
Johanna laughed. “I feel safer already,” she said. “For now? Rest. Your journey can start tomorrow.”

* * *

 _Vyse was too late. He ran across the clouds and the very sky itself. His father and Fina and everyone else was far off in the distance. At first they were little more than dots. He rushed faster and faster. Eventually he had run countless miles_ . _The blue skies darkened with each step. First, it was the purple haze that he’d encountered on the journey back from Shrine Island. The smog turned dark and acrid like the smoke that billowed from his broken home. He darted forward and dodged between voltaic lightning bolts and the blasting of cannons. Closer, closer, closer. Nothing was impossible. Not even this._

 _Right?_ _  
__  
__The storm of fire and lightning grew thick and began to hamper his progress. He got closer to his friends, his father… and they began to fall lifelessly to the ground. One by one, the crew collapsed and broke into glass-like shards. As if some dark shade had reached into their beings, tore out their very souls and broke them apart. He forced through the electric storm barring his way and made it within a few feet of his father. Dyne whispered… something and smiled before death washed over him like a wave._

 _Too slow. Vyse had been far too slow to make a difference. His father chipped and crumbled into dust. He was left with one thought now._ _  
__  
__Fina._ _  
__  
__He turned, heart cold with fear as he searched for the strange and beautiful woman. There she was. Immaculate in her white dress. He ran as fast as his legs allowed. Darting through lightning and soldiers and fire and pain. Slowly but surely he began to drown in the massing tide._

 _Just a little further… Just a little further… So close, so close… If only he could take a few steps forward, he might at least save her._ _  
__  
__Then everything froze. Fina turned to look at him. She walked through all obstructions; the soldiers, the magick. She approached him and smiled. She looked so beautiful. She looked so sad. The blonde woman reached out and poked Vyse on the forehead. Like a child at play. Behind her, he could see the shadow of death itself. A black ghost creature, tall like a dragon, with lighting for eyes. He screamed, trying to warn her but she didn’t seem to notice. And just as the specter reached, ready to claim her soul…_ _  
__  
_Vyse woke in his bed with a start, covered in sweat. He took a few breaths to find himself again. It was just a dream. A trick of the mind. He sighed, battling to regain his sense of composure.  
  
“Dad, Fina… Hold on,” he said quietly. It took another hour before he managed to sleep again.

* * *

Pirate Isle’s makeshift topside port bustled with what little activity its scattered citizens could muster. Aika heaved a small box of supplies onto the sloop as Vyse worked to chip off a small piece of the moonstone they’d recovered from Shrine Island. Two things were important: having the necessary supplies to last the almost week-long trip to Valua and cutting that time down if they could. The first part hadn’t been an issue; although the Valuans had raided weapon stores and treasure caches, it seemed that Lord Galcian’s forces hadn’t been so cruel as to deplete food stores. It was tempting to call it a kindness but Vyse could see the pragmatism behind it. If you left no survivors, there’d be no one to tell stories of the Armada’s might. 

The second part was trickier. Their sloop mostly traveled using sails and meager invocations of Blue Magic. That wouldn’t be fast enough for their purposes. What little had been left of the _Albatross_ was quickly turned over for scrap. That included a modest engine that was quickly affixed to their sloop. That was Peter’s doing; the young deckhand had eluded the Valuans by guiding many of the island's citizens into hiding and guarding them on Dyne’s orders. He was a decent sort with a head for engines and machines. He and Ben had worked through the early morning to get the makeshift motor to rest upon the sloop. Which left Vyse chipping off moonstone pieces for fuel. The stone held raw silver energy, fresh as any merchant could dream of. Fed into the engine, it would speed up the trip significantly.  
  
Vyse hid his anxieties behind a determined gaze, focusing on his work and pushing away his doubts as soon as they snaked into his mind. What if they were too slow? _It doesn’t matter; we have to try_ . What if they made it to the capital and were captured as well? _Not gonna happen_ . He chipped a moonstone shard off with each thought and, in the process, chipped the fear from his mind. Eventually, he had a collection of silvery shards. He deposited the shards in a small drum container on the sloop, leaving the rest of the raw moonstone beside it.  
  
Taking a moment to break, he sat on one of the nearby benches. Jimmy, face still bearing a deep black eye, sat beside him. Within a few moments, Alan and Lindsi had gathered around too. Even Pow wandered up curiously. Aika turned back from her work organizing the sloop’s inventory and smiled before returning to her task. 

“Are you really gonna save them, Vyse?” Jimmy kicked his legs back and forth nervously.  
  
“You know it,” Vyse said. “Gonna sail right into the Empire and bring everyone back.”  
  
Alan took a step forward. “While you’re gone, I’m gonna fix everything up!”  
  
Aika ambled over from the sloop and whispered dramatically. “If you start with my place, I’ll give you five whole gold…”

The group chuckled. All except Lindsi, who stepped forward to look at the two rogues with teary eyes.  
  
“You both gotta promise to come back,” she said. “No matter what, you gotta come back.”  
  
Vyse leaned towards Lindsi and grinned. “Have I ever let you down, Linsdi? Or has Aika?”  
  
“No,” the girl said. She kicked at the dirt nervously. “But this is super scary! You’re going where all the bad people are!”  
  
“And we’re coming back,” Aika chimed in. “Me and Vyse are gonna haul everyone’s ass back safe and sound.”  
  
Lindsi frowned at the swear but stood her ground. “Promise! Promise!”  
  
Vyse and Aika looked at each other. They spoke up in unison. “We promise.”

Peter spoke up from the sloop’s side. “She’s as good to go as ever,” he declared. “And time’s as good as it’ll get; fog’s been churning in and out lately but things are clear for now.”

Vyse stood up and stepped onto the sloop. Aika followed behind him. He looked about his home one more time; even if it was broken, they were not defeated. So long as there was strength in his body, he’d find a way to save his father. To save the crew. To save Fina.

And yet, for a moment, he let some of his nervousness slip across his features.  
  
“A sailor setting out on their journey should have a little more hope in his eyes, I think.” It was his mother. She walked up to the small dock and grinned at her son. “Stand tall, son, and give them hell.”  
  
Aika laughed. “You’re so sweet usually,” she said. “But every now and then I see why you’re the captain’s wife.”  
  
Johanna shrugged. “Victor’s only ever wanted one thing: free skies for everyone,” she said. “I married him knowing that he would cause trouble, and that a day like this could come.”  
  
“We’ll bring him back, Mom.” Vyse looked at his mother seriously. “You’ll see.”  
  
“Do I look worried? Or doubtful?” Johanna Dyne gestured towards the sky. “Go on.”  
  
They were simple words but all that Vyse needed to hear. Aika trimmed the sails and he guided the ship away from the dock. He saw them all: his mother, Ben and Peter, the children… Even Mabel had managed to limp up to the dock to wave. Aika reached into the drum of moonstone shards and tossed one into the sloop’s engine. It gave something resembling a belch before leaping to life and pushing the ship onwards into the Meridian sky. 

For a while, that was enough. The severity of their journey kept Aika and Vyse focused on sailing forward but eventually they found a steady pace and heading such that they could take a moment to relax.  
  
“You really think we can do this, Vyse?” Aika looked out nervously into the clouds. “It’s just the two of us after all.”  
  
Vyse shrugged, keeping one hand on the ship’s wheel as he looked backwards at his friend. 

“I do,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not scared though, or that there’s no version of this that… ends bad for us.”

“It’s just strange,” Aika said. “Do I worry leaping onto a ship’s deck during a raid? Yeah, of course but I’ve done it enough that I don’t freak out. Right now? I don’t know what to think.”  
  
“I think…” Vyse started before taking a moment to find the words. “I think… that it doesn’t matter if this is smart or if the chances are slim or whatever else. We’re Blue Rogues, right? If we want that to last, and if we want to keep these skies free like my Dad does?”  
  
Vyse smiled warmly at his friend. “Then we don’t have a choice. This is the right thing to do, so we’re gonna do it.”  
  
“Yeah!” She gave a clap of excitement. “Besides, we gotta be getting closer. The sky’s darkening and they say it’s always night in Valua so… No, we can’t be that far, right?”  
  
“Wait…”  
  
Somehow, Vyse hadn’t quite noticed the change. The sky had grown foggy, sure, but after the last day or so of strange weather that wasn’t the surprise. Neither was the loss of visibility; he’d taken the sloop to half-sail a while ago as the fog formed. But the darkness? That was something different, something strange that left him confused. Because Aika was right. The sky had shifted from blue to the hazy purple pall from the previous day and now the sloop was covered in a massive shadow. He looked up.  
  
“I don’t think it’s Valuan skies, Aika,” he said. “I think it’s because we’re coming in low underneath that island above us.”  
  
Aika looked up and blinked. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a map. If they weren’t close to Valua, and it had been silly of her to think that even with their moonstone-boosted speed, they would be somewhere near…  
  
The redhead narrowed her eyes in confusion as she regarded the map. “There’s… no island here,” she said before looking up. Above them, the “island” began to fall downwards closer and closer. 

“Vyse! Vyse! It’s falling! The… thing is falling!” Aika’s panicked yells grew into downright screaming.  
  
“I see it,” Vyse said. “Pulling us hard to port!”  
  
The sloop cut sharply to the left as whatever the hell was falling at them continued to drop at a frightening pace. Vyse righted their course and turned to look. An arcwhale the likes of which he’d never seen trailed alongside them. Its purple skin wasn’t smooth like one might expect; it was covered in scars and strange etchings. Portions of it were segmented and hardened like a shell or pieces of armor. For a moment, all was still before a large red eye turned to fix itself upon the sloop.  
  
“Moons! I’ve never seen an arcwhale like that!” Vyse cried out.  
  
The creature gave a bellow that could have shattered mountains.  
  
“We need to back off!” Vyse wasn’t even sure if Aika could hear him after the whale’s bellowing. He began to move the sloop further away from the beast. “A stray rise of one of those flippers could capsize us!”  
  
Aika nodded frantically in agreement. Apparently neither of them were deafened by the creature. 

That didn’t stop the young woman from being utterly confused. “I mean, it doesn’t.. It looked but… Does it see us?! Like, did we piss it off?!”  
  
Somewhere in the sky above them, an explosion rang out. It might have been thunder or even cannon fire. Whatever it was tossed the arcwhale into a frenzy. The noise burst once more and the air grew unbearably cold.  
  
“What the hell is that?!” Vyse searched for the sounds' origin only to find another dark shape in the fog. Meanwhile, the arcwhale took a gasping breath inward that threatened to suck up the sloop entirely.  
  
“Vyse! Brace!” Aika’s voice cut through the confusion.  
  
“No shit!” He held tight to the ship’s wheel. “Grab something and don’t let go! Even if i-”  
  
The arcwhale exhaled a gout of icy wind, a sort of frosty haze that erupted into the Meridian sky and filled it with nothing but wind and cold and death. Vyse felt the sloop begin to spin about. 

“We’re breaking up! Aika!”  
  
A tidal wave of glacial breath slammed against the sloop. Vyse fell down and cracked his head upon the deck. Everything went dark.

* * *

 _You won’t escape me this time, Rhaknam!_  
  
The Captain, body aching with both the weight of years and the strange burning of phantom pain, pressed his ship’s throttle to the maximum. The reliable vessel lurched forward in chase of his target: the Moon’s damned arcwhale that had eluded him for so many years. How long had it been since that day? By now, he didn’t even remember. Few memories remained, a choice few moments that he held in his heart. The rest was fit to burst with fury. This creature, this _thing_ had taken everything from him and it was finally time to repay the monster in turn.  
  
The arcwhale proceed swiftly, aware of its pursuer while also somehow distracted by… something. The captain didn’t care what it was; the beast’s attention was down. He pushed his vessel to the breaking point, drawing up on the arcwhale’s side. He saw the scars and marks of their previous battles. The scorches from their skirmish off the coast of Maramba. The divots where he’d blasted off flesh and muscle near Cape Victory. The countless spears and harpoons resting in the beast’s side, each of them attesting to one struggle or another. Many of them were hurled by dead men. 

Yes, they’d fought so long and now it was time to end it.  
  
The trump card? A row of heavy cannons stolen from unsuspecting Valuan warships. Let them call him a Black Pirate or Blue Rogue or whatever else for attacking them. He didn’t care. The cannons were worth the Empire’s scorn. He would give anything and everything if it meant ending the beast’s life.  
  
His ship drew close. The air grew cold. The Captain fired. One, two, three. The heaviest ordinance he’d ever brought to bear against the beast. Disastrous cannons built by the world’s largest empire. Refined weapons of war that he’d stolen through cunning and kept by right of blood. Cannonballs slammed into the arcwhale. When the smoke cleared, the beast yet lived. Harmed, no doubt, but not slain. The Captain prepared for another broadside. He would fire all the shots he had and then stuff the cannons with cutlery and fire that too if he needed to. The air grew even colder and the arcwhale bellowed. The Captain braced as the monster released a swirl of frost and wind that tossed his ship about.  
  
 _Not enough, you bastard. Never again. Not against my ship._ _  
__  
_The Captain had planned for this as well. His hull was reinforced, his engines were finely tuned. So the ship held steady. But as he prepared to attack again, something caught his eye off the port side. A crumbling sloop twirling in the raging winds. He looked closer and could just make out its pilots: two young sailors clinging on for dear life. What did he owe to these fools? Nothing! The fog dispersed ever so slightly and he saw a boy. Almost as old as…

There was a choice to make. Between fury and something else, something that the Captain had all but forgotten. A metal hand slammed down on his ship’s console. He spun the wheel, turning away from the beast and towards the scuttled ship.  
  
“Damn it all! Moons damn ye to hell and back, Rhaknam! This ain’t over!”

* * *

Vyse drifted through the dark. He felt the bobbing of a ship and smelled the crisp sky but for what felt like an eternity there was only a vast blackness like someone had reached up into the night sky and plucked out all the stars and cast down the moons. If this was death, he decided, it wasn’t exactly terrible but it also wasn’t very fun. So he drifted and drifted and drifted more until…  
  
“Are ya goin' to sleep all day?” A rough voice reverberated in the dark.  
  
Vyse tried to talk but he couldn’t find words. He was _stuck_ in the black, which he slowly started to understand wasn’t the afterlife. His body felt too damn heavy to say anything, caught somewhere between a dream and reality. He fought as much as he could to wake himself.  
  
“Get up!” The voice growled. Before Vyse knew what was happening, a splash of cold water slammed into his body. The young man coughed and sputtered. When he opened his eyes, a man was standing over him.  
  
Old. That was the easiest way to describe him. The man wore his years on his face—years that had not been kind by the look of it—and scowled with a weariness known only to the long lived. Much of this was hidden behind a bushy grey beard. A stark black patch covered one of his eyes, the right one, which had been cleft by _something_ that left a damn ugly scar. He wore a dirty green ensemble splotched with engine grease and was on the heavier side but also sturdy, which was important because of the most important distinguishing feature: a massive metallic arm extending all the way down from his broad shoulders. It came to end in a rudimentary hand with three fingers. It seemed to be made of steel but it was so marred by time that it was hard to tell. 

Vyse rose up slowly and looked around. He was on the deck of a ship but that didn’t matter for the moment. Instead, he whipped his head around until he could spot Aika. His friend lay nearby, rising from her own stupor. He sighed in relief.  
  
“So... ya finally ‘cided ter get up, huh?” The old man continued to scowl at the two. “Thought I were dealin’ with two corpses for a spell there.”  
  
Vyse looked at Aika. “Are you okay?”  
  
Aika stared back at him. “Why are you… all wet?”  
  
The old man stomped a furious boot upon the ship’s deck. “Six different hells upon you lot,” he bellowed. “Because of you two, Rhaknam got away! I was so damned close…”  
  
It took a moment for Vyse to remember what had happened. “Rhaknam...? We were… sailing and..”  
  
“There was an arcwhale,” Aika continued. “But something happened and it…”  
  
“It blew us off course and..” Vyse looked at the old man. “I thought we were goners for sure, but I guess you saved us!” He slowly stood up and extended a hand towards the man. “Thanks!”  
  
The old man punched him in the jaw. With his metal arm. Vyse went sprawling to the deck and began to rise again before slipping to the ground. “Ow….”  
  
Aika whirled on the old man. “What are you doing, you crusty... err rusty... old man?! He didn't do anything!”  
  
“Didn’t do nothin’? Didn’t do nothin’? You two useless swabs ruined everything! I’ve been hunting that damn whale fer years! Weren’t but a scant few shots away from wastin’ that wretched beast and yer both sailin’ ‘bout willy-nilly and screwed it all up!”  
  
By this point Vyse had risen to his feet. “We’re sorry, alright? We weren’t trying to get in the way.”  
  
The old man gave a ha-rumph. “Bits and bobs of yer ship hit me sails,” he explained.”M’lucky my ship is still airborne. Yer luckier I were here to save ya.”  
  
Aika groaned. “Our ship’s destroyed?!”  
  
“Nothing but splinters in the wind, aye,” the man said. “Tossed the last pieces overboard this morning save for a bit ‘o gear and that damn big moonstone. Which I’m keepin’.”  
  
“Hey, you can’t just take that,” Aika crossed her arms angrily at the man. He glared at her.  
  
“I damn well have,” he said. “S’price fer savin’ both yer arses ‘specially now since I’m stuck with you!”  
  
Vyse stepped forward cautiously. “We were using that moonstone,” he explained. “We need to get to Valua fast.”  
  
“Well, now yer here instead,” the old man scoffed. “If you don't like it, you can jump off... I need to keep the load light as possible.”  
  
Aika waved her arms angrily. “We don’t even know where _here_ is or who the hell you are!”  
  
The man regarded the two before nodding. “M’name’s Drachma Gealbhan. S’gonna be ‘ _Captain_ ’ so long as yer on me ship.”  
  
Vyse looked around. “Your ship…”  
  
“Aye, the _Little Jack_ ,” Drachma said. He stormed to the side of the deck, picked up a mop and shoved it into Vyse’s hands. “And this ain’t a passenger ship. Yer sailin’ under my flag, ya two best earn yer keep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to write this week. I've been writing a lot, often omitting a presence elsewhere so I can dive deep into my drafts. I'm comfortable in that space but it can also be exhausting to write so fast. Especially if you're like me and haven't done fiction writing for some time. So I was gonna take a break but then the US election happened. That gave me a burst of anxiety that made this chapter happen sooner than I thought! 
> 
> This was originally going to be longer and extend all the way until Sailor Island, stopping right before the airship battle with Baltor. Thinking it over, I decided that was too much. I want to expand the stuff on Sailor's Island a lot so I can have cameos from different characters and bring certain people into things sooner. So instead, we end with Rhaknam and Drachma. 
> 
> I took a different path with his last name, Gealbhan. I was thinking of a name that might sound right to me and it was hard to figure out. I've mentally modeled Meridian territories as vaguely like the Netherlands or Germany. But I also imagine a lot of differences in the islands. I thought on Drachma's name and his story. I thought about feathers, which are an important thing related to the character. In the end, I chose the Irish word for sparrow. (Vaguely pronounced "Gal-loon" if you've the right dialect.) 
> 
> I hope you think it fits and I hope readers are alright with me writing Drachma's voice with more vernacular/dialect flourishes as well. I know some folks say that's not always wise for a writer to do but for me it's important that Arcadia feel like a lived-in world. Accents are a part of that. 
> 
> Uh, I think that's most of my spare thoughts. It's also just been nice to have Ramirez in the story earlier and we're continuing that here. Oh! Wait, actually! 
> 
> I want to say that this chapter had some very deliberate effort put into adding more depth to Vyse's characterization. Being such a stock "hero" can mean he reads a bit flat in the game' script. We don't get a lot of his internal struggles during the game, since it's a game about being a Big Hero but I like having Vyse show those doubts a bit more here while also explaining that doing what's *right* isn't a choice at all. Hope that came through and would love to hear feedback on that.
> 
> I'm excited for this segment of the story. Character cameos (Pinta, Lawrence and more,) ship battles, a grumpy man becoming less grumpy, Valua, Enrique's expanded role, more Fina and Rami. Heroism! It's a great stretch and this is just the start!


	10. The Direction Of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vyse and Aika find themselves in Drachma's debt but are quickly marooned on Sailor's Island by the grumpy fisherman. Without a clear path to Valua, all seems lost. As the pair search for a means to rescue their friends, they find themselves face to face with wide cast of allies and rivals ranging from strange guildmasters and moonberry munching explorers to grim mercenaries and cocky treasure hunters.

“Dun care! Quit yer jabberin’!”  
  
The phrase quickly became Drachma's most common refrain as Vyse and Aika tried again and again to explain that while they were very sorry for disturbing his hunt, they really needed to get to Valua. The grizzled fisherman grunted and huffed, checking the top deck cannons and surveying his ship before deciding that things were in order. He finally wheeled on the young rogues and jutted his metal arm at them dramatically.  
  
“Listen careful ye wretches: we’re sailin’ northward ‘an if we’re to make pace, there’s work to do,” he explained. “Boy, there’s cargo what needs haulin’ before we reach dock. Girl! Know yer engines?”  
  
Aika blinked. “What? Uh.. yeah, I know plenty. Work some of the repairs on the _Albatross_.”  
  
Drachma’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “I dinnae ask for yer life story,” he said. “Ye’ll be headin’ down to the engine room ‘an feedin’ her some moonstones. Spark with them Reds first and raise speed with some Blues after half a league.”  
  
Vyse turned to Aika. The pair seemed frozen in confusion for a moment before he spoke up. “North’s better than nothing,” he said. “Brings us closer to Valua at least..”  
  
“Well, ain’t that fine and fancy then,” Drachma groused. “Iff’n we’re done havin’ our committee session, ye can start movin’ yer asses!”

There was nothing else to say and hardly anything the pair could do short of battling the grumbling old man for control of the ship. Vyse shrugged, amused with Drachma’s fussiness but resigned to their current predicament.

“Enjoy shoveling moonstones, I guess?”  
  
Aika groaned. She was far less accepting of their circumstances. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever!”  
  
She stamped into the ship’s bridge and noisily clomped down the stairs to the engine room. Vyse turned to Drachma. “So, Captain… Sir.. What needs moving exactly?”  
  
Drachma jerked a thumb to a positively huge crate further upon the deck. “Munitions there,” he growled. “Down to cannons and left there middeck. After that, scuttle downwards. S’a box of sky sardis and grule what needs deliverin’ as we arrive in port.”  
  
“Munitions down, fish up,” Vyse repeated. “Got it.”

He soon regretted making it sound so easy. The first box was almost as wide as he was tall, brimming with shot and powder to the point that he might as well be carrying a gunboat’s worth of firepower in a single box. The _Little Jack_ was an impressive ship and well armed, certainly, but it seemed a little excessive even for someone hunting a massive arcwhale. Slowly but surely, he hauled the box through the bridge and waddled down the stairs to the middeck and carefully placed the box nearest the cannons. He wiped the sweat off his brow and scaled the stairs back up to the bridge.  
  
Drachma regarded the boy from his position at the helm. “Looks like ye got a little more’n lubber on yerr bones after all. What's yer name, boy?”  
  
Vyse rolled his shoulders, working out stiffness. “Vyse Dyne, sir,” he offered. “The fine gal down in the engine room is Aika Nassar.”  
  
“Dyne,” Drachma mused. “Blue Storm ‘o Meridia?”  
  
“I’m his son actually,” Vyse said. “Me and Aika are part of his crew, so we’re used to this kind of work.”  
  
“Victor Dyne’s lad? Hmph! Well, least ye ain’t completely useless. What’s two Blue Rogues doin’ by themselves in the Mid Ocean?”  
  
“We have our reasons,” Vyse said seriously. “Please, Captain, we _need_ to get to Valua.”  
  
“I dun need t’do shite for ye,” Drachma spat. “But long as yer on the _Little Jack_ , there ain’t no furtiveness. Explain, boy. M’listenin’...”

Vyse told all. How Ben’s clamor of shooting stars led to a nighttime raid on a cowardly Valuan admiral and how they’d found Fina. He didn’t offer every detail of the young woman save to say that she was on some type of journey from a home she didn’t dare speak of. He talked of his father and how he’d sheltered Fina in their home. The falling moonstone and the trip towards Shrine Island. A battle against strange automatons—something Drachma scoffed at even if the moonstone was certainly real. Vyse’s voice shook with anger as he painted a portrait of his home in ruins. His friends and family were taken. Fina had been taken. And unless they got to Valua quickly, all would be lost.  
  
Drachma took it in. “Fancy tale,” the fisherman admitted. “Bold of ye pickin’ a fight with Armada too. Must be outta yer mind..”  
  
“I don’t care if you think that,” Vyse said. “I know it’s a long shot… but I’d do anything to save my family.. My friends… Wouldn’t you?”  
  
The old man grew cold. “Don’t be presumin’ to know me,” he growled. “Besides, I ain’t got time to babysit ye two. Every second’s one where Rhaknam slinks off further. Yer gonna need to find another ship”  
  
“Why are you chasing Rhaknam? There’s gotta be another arcwhales out there..”  
  
“You dun need to know that,” Drachma said quietly. “Now go be grabbin’ them fish ‘an bring ‘em up here.”

It was a task only somewhat less difficult than hauling the munitions crate. Vyse descended deep into the cargo hold, passing the engine room along the way. Aika fumed inside with exaggerated cries of “Argh! Girl, shovel them stone into that engine! Yarrrrghhhh!” He smiled before taking the huge crate of fresh sky-fish and lugging it all the way upstairs. He set it aside on the deck and tied it down tightly so that it wouldn’t shift as the _Little Jack_ picked up speed. 

When he returned to the bridge, Drachma’s bearded face held the slightest hint of beguilement. He clearly didn’t expect Vyse to acquit himself so handily. He beckoned with his good hand.  
  
“C’mere boy,” he half-ordered. “Got another chore: take tha’ helm.”  
  
Vyse blinked. “You.. want me to fly the ship?”  
  
“Wanna see how good ye fly, ‘cause iff’n ya can’t manage, ye’ll be shiftin’ boxes the whole time aboard.”  
  
Drachma gestured to the ship’s wheel. Vyse obliged, taking it in his hands and giving the slight motions to feel how responsive it was. To his surprise, the _Little Jack_ turned with the slightest pressure.  
  
“I only got to fly the _Albatross_ so often,” he explained with a grin. “I’m a raider more than anything else. Damn, the wheel’s so light! Ship’s old but responsive. It’s gotta be a few decades since you got her but it feels fresh off the line.”  
  
“Fer someone what ain’t flown much, yer right cozy at the helm,” Drachma huffed. “Easily impressed fella might even use tha’ word natural.”  
  
Vyse began to list the ship side to side and watch through the bridge’s forward window as the _Little Jack_ sliced through the clouds. She began to pick up speed—that was certainly thanks to Aika in the engine room—and he guided the ship forwards as it darted faster through the clouds.  
  
“I’ve spent plenty of time on bridges,” Vyse said. “More than enough time reading Valuan manuals and other things. I’ve picked up a lot.”  
  
Annoyed footsteps stomped up the nearby stairs as Aika tumulted up and on to the bridge. She regarded her fellow sailors with a befuddled and exasperated eye. 

“Engine’s running full, Captain,” she reported dryly before walking up to Vyse. “Have you been here the whole time? While I’ve been shoveling crud down below?”  
  
Drachma shook his head. “S’just taken that helm after runnin’ ragged,” he explained before turning to Vyse. “Keep ‘er on course ‘bout twenty leagues or so. Sun’s settin’ but we should reach Sailor’s Island ‘afore nightfall.”  
  
Vyse nodded. “Aye,” he confirmed as the man trampled off. Beside him, Aika leaned forward on the console and peered at its aging gauges. The young sailor turned to his friend and grinned.  
  
“Watch and learn, Spitfire,” he teased. It elicited an eye roll from his friend.  
  
“Please don’t crash and kill us,” Aika groaned. “I think I’d die of embarrassment.”  
  
A playful chuckle drifted from Vyse’s grinning mouth. With eyes forward and the slowly sinking sun at their backs, the _Little Jack_ pressed onwards into the sky.

* * *

It took far less time than Vyse expected to reach Sailor’s Island. Like any good Meridian ship, the _Little Jack_ was more than meets the eyes and her gullet was fresh with moonstones. Vyse pulled the ship’s throttle back as the port town peeked up on the horizon; her sturdy buildings and tall lighthouse invited any and all ships to berth and rest from whatever journey they might be on. Considering the only other options were a smattering of village outposts and meager trade flotillas, there was no better place to make a stop. Vyse peered at a map that Aika graciously rested upon the console and marveled to find that Sailor’s Island was almost perfectly halfway from his home and Valua. Didn’t that just beat all?  
  
Drachma took the helm with a grunt and guided the _Little Jack_ to port. He clearly didn’t trust Vyse with the finer aspects of helming his ship and handily shepherded the fishing vessel onto the docks. Enlisting Vyse and Aika’s aid, he made the pair haul his bounty of fish to a waiting merchant. There were no pleasantries passed between the old man and his business partner although they seemed familiar enough with each other. In due time, the trio worked their way from the docks and into the bustling town.  
  
Vyse’s gaze darted about as travelers and pirates, street performers and confidence men went about their business and filled the stone streets with their daily misadventures. He saw signs for all manner of shops and establishments. A cozy smelling tavern, a furtive curio exchange, the proud Sailor’s Guild, and all manner of merchants. It was like nothing he’d ever seen in the quieter portions of the Mid Ocean. Aika was equally enraptured. What a place it was! Brimming with people and life. Impressive and grubby in equal measure. She rushed forward, cat-like eyes darting about curiously and laughed happily.  
  
“Can you believe this place?” Aika all but skipped with excitement. “There’s gotta be more people in the streets than all of the village back home!”  
  
Vyse regarded his friend warmly. “Enjoy it while you can,” he said. “Can’t imagine that Valua’s gonna be anything like this.”  
  
“That’s why I’m _basking_ in it,” Aika sighed. “Yeah, I definitely could get used to a place like this.”  
  
“Good,” Drachma growled as he walked by the pair. “Ye both ‘ken rest yer rears here ‘cause soon as I stock up, I’m shippin’ out.”  
  
Aika whirled on the man. “We don’t have a ship! You can’t just leave us here!”  
  
“Actually, girl, I’mma do just that.”  
  
Vyse looked at the grizzled fisherman seriously. “Valua can’t be more than a handful of days from here,” he reasoned. “That’s hardly a waste of your time, Captain.”  
  
Drachma scoffed. “Every second I ain’t chasin’ Rhaknam be wasted time,” he countered. “Now, stow that ‘captain’ business. Yer not on me ship and I dun owe you a damn thing. I’m squatting for food ‘an seein’ iff’n any bastard ‘round here has a cannon what what might do the damned whale in fer good.”

“Maybe trade in your arm for scrap,” Aika said coldly. “Since you’ll do anything to chase that stupid monster!”  
  
“I would, aye,” Drachma said flatly. “Now scamper off!”  
  
He turned and limped over to a nearby tavern where a curvaceous woman with red hair looked at the group with a disappointed eye. She looked at the two air pirates and sighed as Drachma lumbered into the tavern.  
  
“Polly! A special ‘an pint ‘o cider!”  
  
The redheaded woman looked over her shoulder. “Hold your squid, geezer,” she called before sparing one last look at Vyse and Aika and slinking back into the tavern.  
  
That left the pair alone in unfamiliar streets that suddenly seemed a little more threatening than before. Aika groaned, flopping forward in irritation.  
  
“Just great,” she lamented. “He hardly listened to anything we said…”

Vyse tapped his foot in thought. “There’s gotta be something we can do,” he said. “Charter a small ship or maybe even find a way to change his mind…”  
  
“Nothing will change that creaky jerk’s mind,” Aika declared. “He won’t lift his butt from that tavern unless it means killing Rhaknam.”  
  
“Wait,” Vyse considered. “Say that again.”  
  
Aika repeated herself. “He won’t lift his butt..”  
  
“Unless it means killing Rhaknam,” Vyse finished. “It's like he was saying! If we could find a cannon or something here before he does, maybe that’ll change his tune..”  
  
Aika grinned mischievously. “Yeah! Beat him at his own game!”  
  
“Or we scrounge up enough to hire someone else, yeah,” Vyse said. “We should split up. I’ll head to the Sailor’s Guild and ask around. Dad said they might even offer coin for some of the sights in my journal.”  
  
“And I can peek into shops for a whale-killing death cannon!”  
  
Vyse clapped. “Right! Let’s go!”

* * *

The tavern glowed with warmth as wayward travelers and local riffraff dined side by side. Be it shoulder to shoulder at the bar or huddled around whatever table was available, parties mixed and mingled into a mess of merchants, misers, madcaps, and mercenaries. Drachma didn’t particular care for it—he was long beyond the days of drinking contests and his metal arm assured him easy arm wrestling victories. The appeal wasn’t the rowdiness or bar brawls. It certainly wasn’t the joy of meeting new people. No, he returned to Polly’s tavern for two things: good food and a chance to be as anonymous as possible.  
  
The old man sat at the bar, sliding soupy spoonfuls of stew up and over his beard and into his waiting mouth. He was a damn tired man all things considered but he never would tire of Polly’s cooking. She was a fixture of Sailor’s Island for a long time and the tavern, lousy with lowlifes, was perhaps the closest thing Drachma had to a home. Another man might find that woeful or even pathetic; Drachma simply knew it as true, and for all his troubles he appreciated having something “normal” in his life.  
  
The plan had been to sit, eat, and then prepare for his next hunt. To melt into the crowd and have no one bother him… especially those damn kids. Polly wasn’t content to let that pass.  
  
“The kid’s right,” Polly noted as she sauntered over to refill Drachma’s mug. “It’s not so far to Valua that you couldn’t drop them at the doorstep.”  
  
“Didn’t ask yer ‘pinion on that,” he huffed before swigging a gulp of cider. “There ain’t nothin’ fer me but chasing that arcwhale..”  
  
Polly waved a lazy hand to her daughter Anne as she slipped behind the bar and grabbed a tray of food. The young woman, a somewhat smaller version of her mother with an extra slathering of rouge, barged a path through the crowd but gave a nod. Polly was officially off the clock for a few minutes. Which left plenty of time for Drachma’s nonsense.  
  
The tavernkeep leaned on her own bar. “Don’t you think you’ve wasted enough of your life on this?”  
  
Drachma bristled. “That beast is a devil ‘an I ain’t rest until I repay it tenfold fer me troubles..”  
  
“You’re not the only one in the tavern’s been dealt a rough hand,” she said coolly. “Plenty of saps come through here. Moons knows _I’ve_ had rough times too.”  
  
“Yer talkin’ like I care,” Drachma muttered.  
  
“I’m talking like your friend,” Polly replied. “Who has seen you at your best and is looking right now at your worst. Maybe it’s time to hang the harpoon up, y’know?”  
  
“Spare the lecture,” Drachma snarled. “Iff’n ye could leave this place on your own hunt I know ye’d be out there in a heart’s beat. Searching fer _him_.”  
  
“Maybe,” Polly conceded.  
  
Drachma sighed. “Been at this fer a long time,” he said. “I dun got a sense on how t’stop..”  
  
“That’s the problem,” the woman offered. “Maybe those kids are part of the solution.”  
  
The old fisherman stared at his mug for a moment before taking it up and gulping down what swill that remained. He clanked it to the bartop with a heavy weight and looked tiredly at his “friend.”  
  
“Another,” he barked.  
  
Polly grabbed the mug and slopped it into a barrel behind the bar. She placed it full before the broken man.  
  
“On the house,” she told him. At that, she went back to work.

* * *

Vyse walked into the Sailor’s Guild and found it far cozier than he imagined. His mind’s image had been one of boisterous pirates and crews sharing stories of misadventure and fortune. That was far from the reality. The Guild was more of a bookstore or library than hallowed drinking hall. The young rogue took it all in and quickly found that the quiet was better than anything he could have imagined. High bookshelves holding a plethora of navigation guides, travelogues, and survival manuals lined most of the main room save for a smaller section with some type of announcement board adorned with maps and a variety of parchment slips. 

Curiosity guided Vyse’s feet as he drifted to the board and saw a smattering of advertisements and help wanted slips. He reckoned they might be useful but found his eyes drawn to a more colorful selection of posters off to the side. He peered at the assorted posters and realized they were bounties.  
  
Gilder the Unfettered, Loose Cannon Lapen, Rupee of the Larso Clan, Calamity Clara, Black Beard Baltor, Lord Zivilyn Bane, Dyne of the Blue Storm. The last one brought a smirk to his face.  
  
One final name was written on what was clearly the oldest of the billings: Cold Steel Drachma.  
  
 _The old man’s wanted by Valua?_ _  
__  
_It was hard to imagine but Vyse knew full well how the Armada overrated the slightest transgression. For a moment, he imagined his name on the board. Vyse the Daring or perhaps something fancy like Vyse, King of Rogues. Aika would have her own listing as well. Cat Burglar Aika? Aika the Avaricious?  
  
“Thinking about getting into the lucrative bounty business?” An older voice inquired beside him in a hush.  
  
Vyse turned to see an aging gentleman with balding hair and kind eyes, one of which seemed slightly larger thanks to a monocle that rested before it. He wore a splendid green vest and smiled wide.  
  
“No, I…” Vyse didn’t know what to say.   
  
“You wouldn’t be the first young soul to wander into these halls looking for a bag of gold and a few stories,” the man said before giggling lightly. “Or perhaps you’re looking for a job?”  
  
Vyse shook his head. “Neither,” he said. “Unless you actually have a bag of gold to spare.”  
  
“Alas! Not without cause,” he said before extending a hand to make an introduction. “Francis. But everyone calls me Guildmaster.”  
  
“Everyone calls me… Vyse.” The man giggled again. 

“Vyse, you look like a lad in search of something. How might I help?”  
  
“Our captain marooned us,” the young rogue explained. “Slipped into port and told us to shove off. I’m looking for a way outta here. Doesn’t really matter so long as I get to Valua.”  
  
“Valua,” Francis mused with a stroke of his chin. “You’ll find it rather hard indeed to find someone willing to take you right into the empire. Too many scallywags and troublemakers here for that.”  
  
“I’ve got gold,” Vyse said. “Well, I have _some_ gold..”

Francis gestured towards a countertop near the entrance, guiding Vyse over and looking the rogue up and down once more. “Not enough,” he presumed. “Or else you’d already be gone. And yet, I might be able to help with that. If _you_ can help _me_ …”  
  
Vyse raised an eyebrow. “You make that sound ominous.”  
  
“I make it sound profitable,” the man corrected. “For you see, here at the Guild, I’m more than willing to compensate any sailor for useful information that might better help chart our skies. And you, marooned or not, have the look of a lad who has an eye for the curious.”  
  
“Heh, I guess I must be obvious,” he said as he reached for his journal and placed it on the counter. “Suppose a guildmaster like you knows a sailor when he sees one.”  
  
“Even air pirates when they pass through,” Francis explained with a knowing smile. “Now! What curiosities have you seen, Vyse?”  
  
The young man started to lay it all out. Though he wasn’t so well traveled yet, he knew Meridia well and had seen plenty of things in his time on the _Albatross_ and sketched it all in his journal. He shared stories of the coral reefs north of Windmill Isle and the silver moonstone pit to the east. Francis listened well and assured the lad that the information would be put to good use—shared with worthy fisherman and perhaps even some scholars instead of anyone and everyone—and encouraged Vyse to share more. He didn’t have unknown ruins or anything overly exotic to speak of but he told the older gentleman of a smaller isle with a lone stone shack that stories said that traitors and mutineers were left.  
  
Vyse rifled through his journal’s pages and stopped at one final sight: the strange pirate’s grave that he’d discovered after the raid on Alfonso’s ship although he omitted that last part. Francis’ eyes glowed with interest.

“Ah, what have we here?”  
  
“Found it no more than a few days ago,” Vyse explained. He tapped a finger to his notes. “Eastern Meridia, tucked away in the Silvertear Pass. Hard to say who the grave belongs to, although the name begins with the letter D.”  
  
Francis hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll pay a pretty price for its exact location, Vyse,” he said as he pulled out a map and began to make notes. “Do you know about the Pirate’s Grave?”  
  
“My father mentioned something about it, yeah,” he explained. “Do you really think that’s it? This was definitely a Blue Rogue’s grave but… Daccat? Would the world’s greatest pirate have his grave in the middle of nowhere?”  
  
“He was Meridian,” Francis offered. “He sailed under every moon and all about the skies but even the grandest among us have homes and a desire to return to them.”  
  
He looked at Vyse’s journal and then to his map. “Why I imagine one day some fine explorer might happen upon a different dread pirate’s grave in Meridia. Dyne, perhaps..”  
  
“Maybe…” It was all Vyse could bring himself to say.  
  
Francis slid a modest bag of coins along the countertop to Vyse. “The rumor is that he was captured by the Valuans,” the guildmaster said knowingly. “It would be a pity for his story to end upon a noose but he wouldn’t be the first.”  
  
Vyse took his reward and looked at it with a heavy face. “Think this would be enough to rent out a ship?”  
  
“Moons, no,” Francis said. “Least of all one headed Valua.”  
  
The young man took a breath. “Damn it all… I can’t waste time like this..”  
  
Francis shrugged. “Say! You know what I think would make a good story?” he asked Vyse. “I think it would be most interesting if Dyne was rescued even though the odds are rather slim. Hmm…”  
  
The guildmaster held up a knowing finger. “How about you return shortly? Perhaps something might be arranged to get you a little closer to Valua...”  
  
Vyse hesitated. “Sir, I don’t…”  
  
His statement was cut off as the guild’s doors burst open with a pronounced banging and a young man only slightly older than Vyse arrogantly sauntered in as if he was expecting a heroes’ welcome. He had slick black hair and a smirk that could cut diamonds and wore a bright orange jacket that drew just as much attention as his grand entrance. He cleared his throat as he approached Vyse and Francis.  
  
“Make ready, Sir Francis, for an astounding discovery has been made and I, Domingo de León, have arrived to inform you and the world about this most magnificent finding! Made possible only thanks to my sharp eyes and considerable intellect!”  
  
Domingo leaned upon the counter and unfurled a map. He pointed to a portion of Meridia and grinned. “For you see, I have found the one and only Pirate’s Grave!”  
  
Vyse raised an unimpressed eyebrow, casting a glance to Francis. The guildmaster giggled once more.  
  
“Señor Domingo, it’s a pleasure,” he said with a fawning so dramatic that it had to have been intentionally excessive. “Alas, I’m afraid you’re too late. I’ve just been informed of the grave’s location by this fine young man right here.”  
  
The Valuan’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as he scrambled to keep his cool.  
  
“Este cabrón?” Domingo asked as he jutted a finger in Vyse’s direction. “I think not. He told you about _a_ _grave_ perhaps but I’ve found _the_ grave. You see it rests…”  
  
“In eastern Meridia,” Francis chimed in.  
  
“Right between…” Domingo was determined to press on.  
  
“The Silvertear Pass?” Vyse finished for him and grinned as he watched Domingo’s flashy facade fade away. The cocky explorer suddenly seemed much more interested in Vyse.  
  
“Quién eres tú?”

“Name’s Vyse,” the young rogue declared. He continued with faux-concern and teasing admiration in his voice. “You know, this is really embarrassing. If I knew that the _great_ Domingo de León was on the case, I would have just given up. Instead...”  
  
“He beat you,” Francis told Domingo with a laugh.  
  
Domingo bristled. “Well, no bother! I happen to know the location of a lost pit of silver moonstones and crystalline growths that the arcanists would do well to know about and I’ll gladly sell you the information. It’s…  
  
Vyse chimed in again. “Due north of Windmill Isle, upon the eastern mountain ridge. Right near a coral reef.”  
  
“That’s right,” Domingo said. “And no one else knows about it except….  
  
All Vyse could do was shrug, an ever so cocky display of supremacy over the foppish explorer. Francis gave another giggle and looked at Domingo. The Valuan’s face had drained of color; all was confusion and pale disbelief that anyone could ever beat him to a discovery.  
  
“It looks like you’ve come in second place, Domingo,” he said. “Do try to take it in stride.”  
  
The slick-haired explorer sputtered like a stalling engine as he searched for words before finally resetting to his suave default and regarding Vyse with a leery eye.  
  
“Don’t think yourself so impressive,” he said coolly. “Spotting a few stray sights and walking through the door first doesn’t make you my equal.”  
  
“It doesn’t need to be a contest,” Vyse said neutrally. If the seasoned explorer wanted to fume, he’d simply allow the man to burn out. Mostly. “But if you want to act like it’s a race, you’re on.”  
  
Domingo grinned. " _That’s_ the spirit,” he said. “Enjoy your day in the sunshine, Vyse, because I’m gonna reach the edge of the world and more. And I’ll do it faster than you.”  
  
“We’ll see,” Vyse replied with an infectious glee. Domingo was rude, but buried underneath that arrogant exterior was a kindred spirit. Someone else who wanted to see the world and all its wonders.  
  
The Valuan bowed dramatically. “Adios, gentlemen! Francis, when next we meet, prepare yourself for a cavalcade of discoveries and sights that only I, Domingo de León, can provide!”  
  
He spun about on his heels and left the guild. Silence hung on the air until both Vyse and Francis broke into an amused laughter.  
  
“He’s earned some of that arrogance,” the guildmaster admitted. “He’s a knack for finding oddities and lost things. Which I think brings us back to our business...”  
  
Vyse tilted his head in confusion. “I haven’t lost anything.”  
  
“I rather think you have,” Francis said. His eyes glanced to the bounty boards and to Dyne’s wanted poster. He smiled knowingly and looked at the young rogue before him with some consideration.  
  
“Come back in a few hours,” the old man offered. “Provided you can find a capable ship, I know someone who might help you on your way to Valua...”

* * *

There was one name on the lips of every merchant and hawker that Aika talked to in the marketplace and that name was “Pinta.” The redhead had spent the last few hours going from stall to stall, shop to shop, telling the tale of Rhakham and inquiring about the latest in ship weapons and defenses. A few tried to sell her cannons of various sizes but nothing sounded enough to kill Hell’s own arcwhale. Eventually, through a combination of Aika’s storytelling and begging, they were forced to admit that there was only one person on Sailor Island who could help her find what she was looking for: Pinta.  
  
It didn’t take too long to find the emporium, ‘Pinta’s Questing Essentials,’ tucked into a more remote portion of the town. The shop was a sturdy stone affair with a personal dock behind it; a ship only somewhat larger than a tugboat sat at the end. It was almost like looking at the Albatross in miniature. Aika figured that it was some sort of prop or plaything for occupying children’s attention while their parents’ shopped but she did a double-take upon realizing that the small ship had actual guns poking from the side. Small though she was, she was a vessel meant for travel. The girl snickered at it before walking inside the emporium. 

The shop was a mixture of slagged parts, model ships, stray weapons and armor, and pretty much any curiosity that you could imagine. There was even a small section for fruits that, to her absolute bafflement and shock, contained fresh moonberries. Idly, she wondered if they’d purchase the one she’d pilfered from Shrine Island. If anything else, she and Vyse would need money if they couldn't convince Drachma to take them back aboard the _Little Jack_ .  
  
“Need help with something?” A booming voice rang from behind the emporium counter.  
  
Aika turned to see a burly man with a bald head and smattering of stubble on his chin. He grinned wide to show a sparkling row of white teeth. Though he had the build of someone that could snap a tree in half with a single flex, he exuded the aura of someone far less threatening. Aika nodded.  
  
“I need firepower,” she said boldly. “Everyone in the port says this is the place I should ask.”  
  
“Guns, fabrics, tattoos. We got anything and everything you could ask for, miss.”  
  
Aika listlessly ambled over to the counter, leaning upon it. She placed her chin upon her hands. “Let’s say that I needed to blow up something huge,” she said. “Say… something like a massive arcwhale.”  
  
The man raised a thick eyebrow. “Shouldn’t take much to deal with a single arcwhale,” he said.  
  
“It does if they’re as big as an island!”  
  
“We have a G-type cannon for sale,” he noted. “Bit outdated for a Valuan model but that’s still some heavy duty stuff. Hunter torpedoes too.”  
  
“Torpedoes?” Aika knew her ships well but that sounded new to her.  
  
“You must not get out this far often,” the burly man said. “They’re like… bombs what fire upwards. They shoot high and fall down atop the target. Velocity from falling means they can breach heavy decks. Then, they explode.”  
  
Aika thought about it for a moment. “Hard to dodge,” she mused. “Doesn’t sound like what I’m looking for..”  
  
“That’s ‘cause it ain’t!”  
  
A sharp voice slid from behind the counter as a small young man no bigger than a school-child waddled into view. A mop of curly hair frizzled out from underneath a blue cap, which matched his ensemble. His most distinguishing feature was a protruded belly that poked out from beneath his vest. An oversized wrench, or perhaps it was just a normal-sized wrench given his height, hung in a sling on his back.  
  
“Arcwhales dive deep,” he said with a nasally accent that held the slightest hint of Valua. “Torpedoes detonate high. If the target dives too low, they’ll skimp out under the explosion.”  
  
“Aww, boss! I had this one!” The larger man seemed to deflate somewhat.

Aika blinked at the small man. “ _You’re_ Pinta?”  
  
The tiny man removed his cap and gave a half-bow. “The one and only!”  
  
She pointed between Pinta and the large man. “But I thought… He was talking and…”  
  
“Lotta people make that mistake,” Pinta offered with a sly grin. “That’s Niño; he’s the best assistant I could ask for. Met on a cruise to Maramba where we were taken hostage by Black Pirates.”  
  
“Good times, boss!” Niño gave a rumbling laugh.  
  
Aika took a moment to recenter herself and regard Pinta carefully. Whatever his deal was, he seemed smart and well-traveled. “You must have overheard my question then,” she said. “If you were… Well, wait, what were you doing back there?”  
  
Pinta somehow produced a lunch sack and reached in. He lifted out a handful of berries and shoveled them into his mouth. “Havin’ lunch,” he said. “These moonberries ain’t gonna eat themselves.”  
  
“You’re having _moonberries_ for lunch?!” Aika could hardly believe it.  
  
“Kid, when you’re an innovator like me yer gonna use every second to expand your mind. Besides, I stumble upon the things so danged often that…” He stopped for a moment, sniffing the air. “Wait..”  
  
Pinta wiggled his way closer to Aika. “You got one! You ain’t shoplifting, are ya?”  
  
Aika waved her hands before reaching into her pocket to show the moonberry she had. “No, no, no! I found this! See, I was ruin-diving on Shrine Island with my friend to pick up this moonstone and there were these living crab statues and some type of sentinel guard and magic torches and I found this moonberry...”  
  
“Pah,” Pinta said. “Sounds like Silvite nonsense! And you haven’t eaten the dang thing? Tsk, tsk.”  
  
“I thought I might sell it,” she said. “If we can’t find a big enough cannon to convince the grumpy bastard that we were sailing with to take us to Valua, then me and my friend will need to get a ship somehow..”  
  
“Grumpy… Arcwhales….” Pinta seemed to be putting it all together. “You’re sailing with Cold Steel Drachma! And he’s still hunting Rhaknam, eh? Hmmm….”  
  
“You know him?”

Niño chortled again. “Pinta knows everyone,” he said. “Ain’t that right, boss?”  
  
The smaller man waved a dismissing hand before stroking his chin in thought. “The type of prey that old man’s hunting? A fresh cannon or torpedo ain’t gonna cut it. Fortunately, I know something that might..”  
  
Aika’s face lit with excitement. “Really?! That’s perfect! Anything that’ll convince that stick in the mud to help us again is exactly what we’re looking for!”  
  
Pinta grinned. “I imagine you got some dramatic business in Valua but the old man wanted to ditch to hunt the arcwhale, so you’re lookin’ for a way to convince him to take a little detour?”  
  
“Exactly! How did you know?”  
  
Pinta tapped his head. “Moonberries,” he said. “I got cognition like one of them fancy arcanists. Well, you’re in luck kiddo! What you’re looking for can, in fact, be found in Valua. It’s a new weapon called the Harpoon Cannon.”  
  
“Harpoon Cannon?” Aika repeated.  
  
“It’s a fore-mounted spear and cable with a moonstone lattice weave,” Pinta said. “Fires into the target, discharges moonstone energies, and retracts. They say it can punch right through even the latest Valuan cruisers. If you’re tryin’ to convince that old coot to ship out that way, that’s as good a reason as any.”  
  
Aika grinned. “He could hardly refuse looking into something like that.”  
  
Pinta scratched his nose. “An old-timer like Drachma’s bound to know a black-marketeer that could hook him up with the goods,” he said. “Which bodes well for you, miss… What didya say your name was?”  
  
“I didn’t,” Aika said. “It’s Aika. Aika Nassar. I’m sailing with my friend Vyse.”  
  
“Aika Nassar, I wish I could wave my hands and teleport you and your buddy Vyse straight to Valua but this will hafta do,” Pinta said courteously. “Now, before you invariably rush off to dangle this information about Cold Steel’s nose… maybe you could do me a favor?”  
  
“What’s that?” Aika could hardly think of anything she could do for Pinta.  
  
“Eat the moonberry.”

Aika narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Uh, why?”  
  
Pinta chuckled. “The Old World was thick with magic,” he said. “Full of unexpected wonders and creations we hardly can fathom. Like those weird things you saw on Shrine Island. Moonberries carry a portion of that old magic, since they’re fertilized by moonstones. Exploration isn’t just about the things we draw on a map; it’s also about the things we can imagine in mind and feel in our hearts so…”  
  
The young man plucked a berry from his bag and munched it down. “I wanna see what sparks in your mind, kid. It’s usually good for a laugh at the very least.”  
  
Reaching to produce her own berry from her bag, Aika held it before eyes. With a grand shrug, she plopped it into her mouth and began to chew. It didn’t taste too different from a raspberry although it seemed to possess a strange cooling quality to it. She exhaled for a moment and her breath hung upon the air as if she was standing in a snowstorm. Aika gasped with wonder.  
  
“Is that normal,” she asked. “For eating a moonberry?”  
  
“We all got a spark of magic in us,” Pinta said. “Usually from the moon we were born under. S’funny that you’re goin’ all purple ‘cause I woulda sworn your last name was Nasrean..”  
  
“I got a purple moonstone recently,” she explained. “My friend says that the longer you spend with a stone, the more its energy weaves into yooouuuuuuu wooaahhhhh….”  
  
It felt like a lightning bolt had cracked in her mind. Aika’s senses came into focus and a surge of energy snaked through her very being. Her mind began to race with all sorts of thoughts but the swirling mass of ideas and possibilities honed in on her most pressing desire: saving her friends. At that, she imagined what dangers awaited in Valua and how she could overcome them. Vyse might rush ahead and rely on his daring swordsmanship and that was fine… but Aika felt the thrumming energy of the moonstones in her pocket and in sensing them more acutely, she began to understand how she could shape them. 

A twirl or her boomerang to circle her spells about, an imbuing of magicks into her weapon that she might then toss into the ground or spin around herself for a variety of effects. There were plenty of options and she had a sense in her mind that she was tapping into a sensibility that was once common. She exhaled one more icy breath and grinned at Pinta.  
  
“What’s on your mind, kid?”  
  
“Ways to protect my friends and family,” she said with a grin. “Techniques that I hadn’t considered or, I guess, had the confidence to dream of. Casting a _pyri_ spell and twirling my boomerang so that there’s a surge of fire or maybe dispersing an opposing magic to cancel out certain spells aaaannnnd oooh damn, I can already feel this thing wearing off…”  
  
Pinta smiled. “Still! That’s interesting stuff, Aika! Not bad thinking, and maybe you could give them techniques fancy names. Alpha Storm or...”  
  
“Lambda Burst!” Aika couldn’t help but blurt out the name for some reason.  
  
The small man shrugged. “You’re clever,” he said. “Clearly got mischief on your mind. So the moonberry gave you a little thought on how to cause some chaos. Helped you _see_ what you’re capable of.”  
  
Aika nodded. “Weird stuff, but I don’t mind it!”  
  
“Any little bit of imagination is good,” Pinta said. “I travel the world for goods and curiosities but the best stuff? People! Ideas! And yeah, you’re thinking a bit… aggressively with the magic stuff but s’all good.”  
  
The redhead shivered out a sigh that contained the slightest hint of frosty chill. “I gotta find my friend,” she said. “Then we need to find Drachma and tell him about that Harpoon Cannon.”  
  
Pinta gave a salute. “Not a bad plan,” he offered. “Me? I gotta prep for my next little “quest” for supplies.”  
  
The rogue laughed. “You’re a strange one, Pinta. You know that, right?”  
  
“Anything different is good, kid.”  
  
Aika flicked her own salute back at the tiny emporium keep and ran out into the town in search of Vyse.

* * *

The sun hung lower in the sky as Vyse made his way through town and towards the market. It had felt like mere moments but his time at the guild had eaten away into most of the day. Simmering orange touched the faces of passersby and Vyse did his best to slink and slide through the ever-swarming streets. It was overwhelming but that only emboldened him further. He hadn’t expected his first real steps out of Meridia to come about thanks to some dire rescue mission but he also wasn’t going to dismiss the excitement in his stomach. It helped block out his worry; instead of giving into his fears or falling into thoughts of failure, Vyse found himself drawing strength from the crowd around him. The world was an amazing place and no matter the circumstances that brought him here, he knew it was alright to relish the sights and sounds.  
  
After a time, the young sailor found himself as much a sightseer as a man with a mission. A street performer cranked a squeaky music box on one corner, emitting some type of horridly catchy jaunt that Vyse would inevitably hum for the next few days. A small stall hawked kabal skewers of questionable origins while still boasting of authentic Nasrean herbs and spices. The smell seeped into his nostrils and brought a grin to his face. To one side of the street, a half-drunk sailor made a scene of kissing the cobblestones as he tearily thanked the moons for bringing him back to solid ground.  
  
Of course, even the most wondrous towns were packed with disagreeable elements. Sneering conmen beckoned at him in attempts to lure him into card games that were certainly rigged, and he spotted at least one dart-handed thief snag a purse before racing off into the crowd. Vyse didn’t mind the implicit danger at first but as he pressed up a hill of food stalls, his eyes were drawn to a group of loud-mouthed pirates menacing one of the stall owners, a small brunette woman quivering in fear. She couldn’t have been that much older than him or Aika. Whatever arbitrary slight had brought the pirates’ wrath upon her was hard to imagine. Not that it mattered; as he drew closer, the trio of brigands began to toss fruit about like furious dogs. Off to the side, a stern looking man with a purple coat watched it all but did nothing.  
  
“Yer lucky we don’t tear it all down,” a sweaty looking buccaneer scowled. “Chargin’ us bullshit prices!”  
  
A shorter scumbucketeer with a thin mustache cackled. “We was offerin’ nicely when we _suggested_ a discount,” he said. “Black Pirates take whatever we like.”  
  
“Maybe we should scoop her up,” the third man jeered. “Show her we ain’t so awful, savvy?”  
  
Vyse couldn’t abide it. He rushed right up to the trio and placed himself between them and the stall. 

“Maybe you should back off,” he said forcefully.  
  
Their leader wiped a mop of sweat from beneath his ragged hair. “Oh, we got ourselves a hero!”  
  
“Looks more like a ninny to me,” the short pirate mocked. “You looking to get cut, Ninny?”  
  
“Are you?” Vyse shot a reply back without even thinking about it. If they wanted trouble, he’d gladly give it.

Behind his back, the stall owner protested. “It’s fine,” she said nervously. “I… I can give them a discount.. You don’t need to…”  
  
Vyse glanced back at her. “Yeah, I do.”  
  
The Black Pirates let their hands list towards their weapons, daggers and blades upon their belts and boots, eyeing Vyse for any motion. His own hand slipped ever so slowly towards the cutlass at his side. Everyone stood frozen, waiting for the other to make an honest move when suddenly, an older man with a flashy red coat and tinted pince-nez stumbled into one of the men. He twirled about as though he might fall to the ground but found his footing with a smooth pirouette. He regarded the stand-off curiously.  
  
“Gentlemen,” the man said with a silken smooth voice. “I’d love to hop in and help this brave fool with whatever dance you’re about to have—since he looks friendly and you look like bastards—but if I don’t get the hell outta here right now, I’m gonna be up to my neck in abhorrent admiration!”  
  
The entire group, Vyse included, looked at the man in abject confusion. In reply, he peered beyond the Black Pirates and towards the purple-coated bystander on the corner. He raised his hands slowly and the entire group braced for... whatever he might do. To everyone’s surprise, he clapped them together and seemed to produce a golden coin from nowhere. He tossed it up and over the men.  
  
“Lawrence! Why don’t you lend this lad a hand while I exit stage left?”  
  
The purple-coated man, apparently named Lawrence, caught it and smirked. He pushed off from the wall and gave a nod to the affirmative. The gentleman with the pince-nez clapped again.  
  
“This was fun but I _really_ gotta go,” he declared before turning to dart and run off into the crowd. Within moments, a woman rushed through the group and followed after him. She wore a billowing pink ensemble that all but blinded everyone with its neon glow, streaking past with all the frantic speed of a falling moonstone.  
  
Lawrence took a step towards the Black Pirates, who wheeled about to face him. Vyse stood close to the stall owner and watched as his new ally withdrew a gleaming red moonstone cutlass from a sleek looking scabbard at his side. From his wild hair and well-worn velvet coat to his scarred face and sharp eyes, Lawrence looked more animal than man. Except for the sword. That looked well-maintained to the point of perfection even if he held it with the deep familiarity of a killer.  
  
“You all know who I am?” His voice growled in a deep baritone.  
  
The mustachioed pirate stammered. “Lo… Lone Wolf…. Lawrence….”  
  
Lawrence nodded. “So you know it’s a bad idea to draw those daggers..”  
  
The Black Pirates raised their hands away from their weapons. “We were just… havin’ fun,” their leader said. “You know, we really need to get back to our ship anyway so…”  
  
There was a beat and the trio turned to rush away towards the docks. Lawrence gave the smallest chuckle of pride before sheathing his blade. Vyse did likewise and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.  
  
“I coulda taken care of it,” he insisted. Lawrence shrugged.  
  
“Yeah,” he said. “But you didn’t…”  
  
The solitary man walked by Vyse and up to the shivering stall owner. The woman looked at him with a worry almost equal to that she’d reserved for the Black Pirates. Carefully, Lawrence placed his fresh gold coin down on the countertop. “I’ll have an apple..”  
  
“R.. Right,” the woman replied. She took a fresh red apple and handed it to Lawrence. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and Vyse. “Thank you. Both of you.”  
  
Lawrence shrugged once again. “Whatever,” he said before moving back to his corner and taking a bite of his apple. It was as if the fight had never happened. He didn’t even spare Vyse another look.  
  
“Are you okay?” Vyse looked to the woman with concern.  
  
“I’m fine,” she said. “Not the first time and it won’t be the last. If it isn’t me, it’ll be someone else.”  
  
Vyse frowned. “Is it always that bad?”  
  
She shook her head. “Not at all,” she replied. “It’s just… Sailor's Island, y'know? We see all sorts. Including do-gooders like yourself.” She gave him a wink. “But I think your girlfriend might have some words for you…”  
  
“My girlfriend?” Vyse didn’t know what she was talking about. The stall owner pointed playfully over his shoulder. He turned and came face to face with Aika.  
  
“What the heck did I just miss?” his friend asked snappily. “Also: I am not his girlfriend!”  
  
The other woman laughed and began to clean up her stall. Vyse sighed. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Just a few Black Pirates. I was coming to find you.”  
  
Aika looked at Vyse with some disbelief. “Did you learn anything at the guild?”  
  
“Plenty,” Vyse said. “Even made some coin, but nothing that would change the old man’s mind. What about you?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, I did!” Aika placed her hands proudly on her hips. “Turns out there’s one hell of an arcwhale-killing cannon out there. And it’s in Valua!”  
  
Vyse beamed. “That’s perfect! What is it?”  
  
“Some big harpoon cannon that can shoot down Armada ships in one blow,” she explained. “Pow! Bam! Just the sort of thing that Dreary Drachma can’t resist.”  
  
“Suppose we should go tell him the good news,” Vyse said surreptitiously. “But let’s beat around the bush a little..”  
  
Aika grinned. “Vyse, are you suggesting we let that old bastard’s grudge do all the work for us? Isn’t that a bit..” She made a dramatic gasp. “Exploitative?”  
  
Vyse chuckled. “Why I would never, Aika! But these are desperate times...”

* * *

They exchanged their stories on the way back to Polly’s tavern. Vyse told her about the old man’s bounty and the arrogant case of Domingo de León. He explained his run in with the Black Pirates and the way a stranger’s spare coin turned the tide of a would-be battle. Aika, in turn, spoke of Pinta and the astounding rush of eating the moonberry. Small adventures but adventures nevertheless, each of them bringing a smile to their friend’s face. Reaching the tavern door, Vyse tapped his forehead to signal that Aika should follow his lead.  
  
Opening the creaky establishment doors, the two rogues sauntered to the bar where Drachma was firmly seated. Vyse leaned casually beside him and Aika slinked to her friend’s side. They turned and looked at the old man, feigning surprise.  
  
“Captain,” Vyse said. “Fancy seeing you here. I figured you’d be off by now..”  
  
Drachma gave a huff. “Wotcher callin’ me that fer? Ye ain’t sailin with me no more, which means I ain’t yer captain.”  
  
“Oh, well that’s really too bad,” Aika offered smoothly. “Because I heard all about this brand new cannon they’re selling in Valua that might be able to take down Rhaknam but if we’re not sailing together anymore…”  
  
The surly fisherman snapped to attention. He turned to look at the pair with his one good eye. “The hell are ya talkin’ ‘bout, lass?”  
  
Vyse glazed over the subject. “You know, Captain, when I saw Rhaknam I couldn’t believe it,” he mused. I’d never seen an arcwhale that big. Until about an hour ago, I would have said he was indestructible..”  
  
Aika nodded. “I definitely woulda thought the _Little Jack_ ’d have no chance against him.”  
  
“Until I learned there was a cannon that _could_ kill him,” Vyse added. “But if you’re not sailing with us, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. C’mon, Aika, I’m sure we can find someone who can get us Valua…”  
  
“Oh, woeful day,” Aika replied dramatically. “If only we knew someone who could take us there! We'll be searching for weeks!”  
  
Drachma’s heavy metal arm slammed against the countertop. “Are you tryin’ to bargain with me, runts?!”  
  
The clanking summoned Polly, who slinked over to the end of the bar and watched the scene with an amused eye. Two brats and an even older, bigger brat. The ad hoc negotiation was quite a sight.  
  
Vyse smirked at the fisherman. “That’s a real eloquent way of putting it,” he said coolly. “The way I see it… if we’re gonna help you, it’d only be fair for you to help us in return.”  
  
“Especially if we’re heading the same way,” Aika added.  
  
Polly took the opportunity to speak up, leaning upon her own bar and looking at Drachma seriously.  
  
“Now that they mention it,” she started. “I’ve heard something about that too. Buncha loose lipped Valuan soldiers got drunk here the other day and started going on and on about a weapon with the power to destroy small islands..”  
  
“Polly, I swear.. If yer lyin’ t’me what so ye can take the side of some good for nothing kids…”  
  
The tavernkeep brought a wounded hand to her chest. “Drachma, I’m the only one on this island who doesn’t bullshit you. Besides, look at them!”  
  
She gestured at the pair. “I’ve been running this place for twenty years,” she explained with the weight of her years in her voice. “I know liars when I see them. These two? Definitely not.”  
  
Drachma groaned as if all of his bones were grinding in his body. “Fine,” he snapped. “I ain’t gettin’ me hopes up but I’ll drag yer arses to Valua. ‘Specially if there’s summat what might kill Rhaknam.”  
  
Aika blinked in surprise. “Seriously?!”  
  
The old man nodded. “It ain’t some fun-time happy cruise,” Drachma declared. “Ye’ll work the whole damned way and I dun wanna hear no complainin’ ‘bout it!”  
  
Vyse held out a hand and was surprised when Drachma gave it a quick shake. “Deal,” the young rogue said. “What you say goes.”  
  
“Cap’n, you’re the best!” Aika bounced in place with high spirits. “Thank you for believing us!”  
  
“And thank you too,” Vyse said to Polly. The old woman shrugged.  
  
“Don’t sweat it, hon,” she replied. “Just come back after your little adventure is done and tell me how it went. We could always use a good story around here.”  
  
“Everything goes right? It’ll be a damn good one,” Aika said, smirking like a cat in cream.  
  
Polly nodded but regarded the group with a stern eye. “You’ll need to be careful in Valua,” she said with motherly concern. “They usually shoot first and ask questions later.”  
  
Drachma grunted in agreement. “She’s right,” he said. “We’re gonna need a passport what fer gettin’ there too. ‘An mine’s right damn expired since I ain’t been there fer ages..”  
  
Vyse stroked his chin in thought.  
  
“A passport,” he thought. “You know, I made a friend here and I think he might be able to help us…”

* * *

It was all but dusk when the trio entered the Sailor’s Guild, its interior now lit with an arrangement of candles and yellow moonstone lamps. Francis regarded them all with his characteristic mixture of sagely wisdom and odd amusement.  
  
“Well, Mister Vyse,” he greeted. “When I said you should return in a few hours, I didn’t expect you to wander in alongside a wanted bounty mark. Are you here to collect on Captain Gealbhan’s price? Turn him over to the Valuans for his nasty little crimes?”  
  
The old man grunted. “Nice to see you too, Francis.”  
  
Aika glanced at Drachma curiously. “Why do you even have a bounty, Cap’n?”  
  
Francis replied post-hate. “Our dear captain here has a knack for attacking Valuan ships and stealing their weaponry,” he said.   
  
“So you’re like a Blue Rogue,” Aika said excitedly.  
  
“I’m a fisherman in need of damn good guns,” Drachma insisted. “Ain’t my fault the Valuans got ‘em.”  
  
“So he says,” Francis offered before glancing at Vyse. “But from the look of things, you’re not merely here to follow up. You’ve a need for something particular. If I can provide, then I’ll gladly assist you and the good fisherman.”  
  
Vyse leaned surreptitiously towards the guildmaster. “Can you get us a Valuan passport?”  
  
Francis hesitated. “That would be difficult,” he admitted carefully. “There’s an application fee and a background check. All of which takes time. Ignoring your... unique company, the process would take a full lunar cycle at a minimum.”  
  
Aika huffed. “We can’t wait for a full lunar cycle,” she lamented. “You’re the guildmaster. Can’t you just… forge us a passport or something?  
  
“That would be out of the question,” Francis replied. “The penalty for forging a passport is execution, as is the penalty for having one. I understand you might be in a rush but I can’t risk the Valuans coming after the guild.”  
  
The redhead crossed her arms in frustration. “You call yourself a guildmaster,” she mumbled. “You’re just some Valuan puppet!”  
  
Vyse turned to his friend. “If he can’t risk it, he can’t risk it. We’ll figure out something.”  
  
The guildmaster raised a hand. “If you’ll allow your disappointment to subside,” he began. “You might recall, Mister Vyse, that I said I knew someone that could help you get to Valua. That’s still the case even now…”  
  
A tired voice cleared its throat behind the trio, who all turned to find a diminutive old man with a long white beard that hid a kindly tan face. He rocked upon his feet and regarded the group as if he was assessing the stock on a store shelf. He glanced at Francis.  
  
“This is the boy, then?” His voice was old and bore a deep Nasrean accent.  
  
Francis nodded. “That’s correct,” he said. “And it appears he’s back with his captain. Which might mean there’s a solution to all of your problems.”  
  
Vyse looked at the old man. “What could we do for you?”  
  
The man gave a bow. “My name is Bader,” he said. “I am a merchant from Nasrad. I’m returning to the capital to set up a more permanent shop. It’s too dangerous these days and I’m getting too old..”  
  
He stroked his beard idly. “I need an escort home,” he explained. “The air near the Southern Dannel Straight is being hounded by Baltor, that damnable Black Pirate! Me and my crew… Our ship would be an easy target.”  
  
Francis interjected. “I told Bader there was a kind soul in town,” he explained. “ Who perhaps would stumble upon a ship that could provide some protection..”  
  
“In return, I will gladly offer you my own passport,” Bader finished. “Which you could alter as needed.”  
  
Drachma nodded in thought. “Baltor, eh? He’s a vicious sort. Ye’d be torn ‘part iff’n he found ye.” Vyse and Drachma exchanged a wordless glance before the fisherman spoke up once more.  
  
“We’ll lend an escort,” the old man said. “Might be enough to make the bastard think yer not worth the trouble.”  
  
“And if he shows up, we’ll deal with him,” Vyse added.  
  
Bader beamed. “You’re wise beyond your years, young one,” he praised. “I’m glad we can do business.”  
  
Drachma regarded the fading light outside. “I’ll hafta come first thing in the mornin’,” he explained. “Night’s too easy fer Baltor t’get a drop on us.”  
  
“I very much agree,” Bader said. “Let us meet tomorrow morning and then sail. The Red Moon will guide us home, and you will get your passport in return...” 

* * *

Night fell upon Sailor’s Island and the sky soon filled with sparkling stars. Drachma almost immediately retired to the _Little Jack_ but gave his troublemaking crew leave to explore the island further. It was less a magnanimous gesture and one meant to keep as much distance between himself and the brats as possible. They all knew it; Drachma might have changed his mind about taking them to Valua but it was desperation and not kindness that stirred his hand. Vyse didn’t know what the old man truly wanted with Rhaknam but it was clear that he’d do anything if it meant harming the beast. If that meant dragging two stray Blue Rogues to Valua on some outrageous rescue mission? Well, that was fine.  
  
There was one place that Vyse wanted to see more than any other on Sailor’s Island. It was the place he’d want to see on any new island: the highest point. They were a long way from Pirate Isle and its familiar lookout but the young man still had a need to look at the sky. To look out at what was ahead and truly steel himself for what was to come. So it was that he’d convinced Aika to accompany him to the top of the port’s lighthouse and look off into the sky.  
  
The two stood in silence for a time, the undeniable weight of their mission hanging upon their shoulders, and looked far off into the distances where the slightest hint of yellow teased of Valua and its mother moon. His father was there, and Fina was too. Neither of them dared imagine what their circumstances might be, but they looked at the night sky with a shared passion: they would bring everyone home no matter what.  
  
“Only a few more days,” Aika said quietly. “We’ll get there soon and, well…”  
  
Vyse hummed in thought. “We’ll save them.”  
  
Aika turned to her friend and smiled softly. “You say it so confidently,” she offered with admiration. “You know there’s… a lot of ways this could go bad.”  
  
“Sure, but it won’t,” he replied. Not denial or dismissal. Fact. “Ask me how I know.”  
  
“Okay, Vyse… How do you _know_?”  
  
The young man looked deep into Aika’s eyes. “Because I won’t let anything bad happen.”  
  
“That simple, huh?”  
  
“That simple,” Vyse said. “I don’t know what’s waiting for us in Valua or what it’ll take to save everyone but what I do know is we’ll do it. Dad’s coming home, the crew’s coming home. _Fina_ is coming home.”  
  
Aika sighed. “She must be terrified,” she said, worried, shaking her voice. “I wish I knew _why_ they were so desperate to take her. What’s a sweet girl like that matter to Valua?”  
  
“She’ll tell us when she’s ready,” Vyse declared. “She’s got a good heart.”

“So do you,” Aika replied automatically. A hint of red touched her face. “The moment we learned they were taken, you were already prepared to sail off.”  
  
Vyse grinned at his friend. “And you were just as prepared to come with me,” he said.  
  
They looked at each other for a moment, seeing something in the other that was previously unknown to either of them. The moment was broken by the sound of loud snacking from atop the lighthouse roof.  
  
“Should I leave?” Pinta’s voice chirped from above them. Aika took a jolted step backwards and looked up at the odd merchant.  
  
“Pinta?! How long have you been there?!  
  
The tiny man gave a shrug. “Hours,” he said. “So technically, you know… you two are interrupting me.”  
  
Aika raised an eyebrow. “More moonberries?”  
  
“More moonberries,” the reply came as Pinta dangled one before his face before scarfing it down. “Is that fella your friend Vyse? I mean, I heard you say his name so I know but…”  
  
Vyse chuckled and looked up at the strange little man. “That’s me,” he said. “And you’re Pinta. You know, your information about that fancy cannon got the two of us out of a real bind.”  
  
Pinta stood up, waddled to the roof’s edge and hopped down, joining them on the balcony. “S’my pleasure to help,” he said. “Now I ain’t full up on the details but it sounds like you got some friends in Valua who need some help.”  
  
The rogue nodded. “The Valuans attacked our home,” he explained. “My father is… Victor Dyne. They took him and the rest of his crew. And another friend.”  
  
“Who sounds like a fine lady,” Pinta offered. “Who is probably in way over her head if the Valuans are after her.”  
  
Aika sighed. “That’s a way of putting it lightly,” she said. “Fina barely knows anything about the world.”  
  
“I doubt that,” Pinta said as he munched another moonberry. “Just because she doesn’t know whatever you or I know doesn’t mean she knows nothing. It’s all about perspective, kid. You’ll learn that as you get older.”  
  
“I’m pretty sure I’m older than you,” Aika said, although it was hard to tell for certain.  
  
“Maybe, but I _know_ that I’m wiser,” Pinta retorted with a wink.  
  
Vyse laughed in earnest. “And what brings a wise man like yourself up here tonight?”  
  
Pinta gestured towards the sky. “I’m shipping out tomorrow,” he said. “Off to sail in search of treasure and fortune. Maybe a little trouble, mostly a lot of fun. I come up here before every fresh voyage. Imagine the possibilities.”  
  
“I look at the sunset every day,” Vyse admitted. “Right now? I’m looking towards our goal. Towards Valua. If me and Aika are lucky, it’ll be like your journey: maybe a little trouble, mostly a lot of fun.”  
  
“We all dream of giving the empire a black eye, kiddo.”  
  
Aika leaned upon the balcony railing. “I like the sound of it,” she said dreamily.  
  
Pinta swallowed another moonberry. “I think you had the right philosophy, Vyse.”  
  
“Hmm? What do you mean?”  
  
“Don’t even imagine failure,” Pinta replied. “Eliminate that crud from your mind, and then? Just.. _do the thing_. Even if it’s impossible.”  
  
Vyse grinned. “Especially if it’s impossible.”  
  
“Damn right,” Aika added before she leaned forward further. “Wait.. what’s that?”  
  
A glint reflected on a bottle suspended impossibly in the night sky and as the three looked at it, the image came into focus. A small balloon listed towards the lighthouse. It was tied to a red balloon and bobbed closer and closer until it clinked upon the railing. Aika reached out and grabbed it.  
  
“There’s something inside..” She popped the bottle’s cork to find a small piece of paper and scrawled writing in a shaky script that she hardly understood. A language that she didn’t really know. 

“I can’t read this.”  
  
Pinta’s small hand shot up to take the note.  
  
“Lemme take a look,” he said before chomping another moonberry. “I’ve seen a thing or two.”  
  
Vyse raised an eyebrow. “Is that really gonna do anything?”  
  
Pinta regarded the paper, translating the script with relative ease. “Please send warriors to help us fight against the evil,” he recited with curiosity.  
  
“A prayer,” Vyse said solemnly. “Or maybe a wish. If there’s even a difference..”  
  
“Whoever wrote this has their own share of troubles,” Aika observed sadly. Pinta handed the letter to Vyse, who looked it over for a moment.  
  
“Whatever the case, that letter reached you,” Pinta observed. “You know what they say about prayers on the wind, right?”

Aika shook her head. “No, I don’t.”  
  
Vyse smiled softly. “I do,” he said. “Mom told me once. They sail in the direction of hope..”  
  
“You two got a hell of a time ahead of you,” Pinta noted. “But I think you’ll be alright. But for now… seein’ as we got ourselves a little bottle and balloon… how about we pass our own prayers to the wind?”  
  
The tiny man produced his own piece of parchment and a small pencil from his vest pockets. He began to scribble something upon the page. “I’ll start with… fresh fortunes. That’s what I’ll keep prayin’ for.”  
  
He handed the paper to Aika. “What about you, kiddo?”  
  
Aika took a moment to think before scrawling her own hope. “Free skies,” she said.  
  
She handed the paper to Vyse. He wrote immediately.

“Family and friends."  
  
He rolled up the paper and slid it into the bottle. With a squeak, he popped the cork upon it and shoved it and the balloon that brought it back into the night sky. A gust of wind swept through the sky and carried the bottle away, upwards and onwards into the unknown. They watched until it faded into the night..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be our biggest chapter yet, clocking in at about 11k words when I last checked during edits. That's pretty daunting considering that it's a mere layover on Sailor's Island which goes by pretty quickly in the game. I wanted to turn it into a lot more and use our time in one of the world's better known ports to introduce characters and expand on those who never really got much time in the game such as our trusty guildmaster. Which is fun because it means I get to toss Domingo into the story early and do something silly like having a small cameo from Gilder and Clara. I enjoy the moments where the plot provides structure and clarity but equally relish the chance to build upon moments that are glossed over in the game. In this case I figured why not swing for the fences and toss in some fan favorites?
> 
> This was also a chance to do a little more with Pinta. He doesn't get much characterization in the game but in theory he's this tough little fella going out on quests, stockpiling moonberries, and having all sorts of excitement off-screen before he joins up with Vyse. This chapter is a bit fan service-y but I wanted to use it to set up characters and information that would matter later on. Pinta and the moonberries meant we got to learn how to best torpedoes, have Aika "learn" the fundamentals behind her super moves (which means some more liberties to take in actions scenes,) and set up the fact that Pinta is out there globe-trotting as well! One of the trickier things for me, and something I've been thinking of from the start, is how to make integrating and acquiring the Delphinus crew a process that feels a little more seamless and less like a treasure hunt. This is part of that, and it culminates in another moment that lays the groundwork for when our heroes will meet Merida further down the road... and gives us a nice final image for the chapter. It's a bit on the nose but I told my friend/spot-editor that I think it's okay to write moments for the benefit of your characters even if they're not always economical.
> 
> I'll admit that I found writing this one to be challenging. Not because I was struggling for ideas but because I just... kinda hit a wall in real life. I'd been sprinting pretty hard on this project and needed to take some time to readjust my priorities, spend a bit of time with family and friends, and recharge because I was frankly feeling a bit down. In the end, I think that was a good idea even if it meant releasing this chapter took about a month. I do hope you liked it.
> 
> The next chapter will be a unique and exciting challenge though, and one very different from this. It's our first major ship battle! A singular bit explosive action before we start to incorporate more perspectives again and leap to Fina and Enrique in Valua. We're nearing my personal favorite segment of the story, and I'm very excited for what's coming soon!


	11. Devil To Pay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Little Jack's crew escorts Bader's merchant ship to Nasrad, a would-be pirate lord strikes. Thrust into his first battle behind the wheel, Vyse must rely on quick-thinking and a little bit of luck in order to survive.

The night passed quietly upon the _Little Jack_ although the occasional sound of drunken debauchery or street brawling slinked down to the docks. Vyse woke twice in the night thanks to these small outbursts but far from being annoyed, it brought a grin to his face each time. He’d shift a little in his ratty hammock outside the engine room and think of a better future. One where he wasn’t rushing into Valua on a near-suicide mission but instead where he was docked at Sailor’s Island on his own ship. He had to believe in that possibility, In a future where everything worked out. It was how he kept moving forward.   
  
Those thoughts had shifted into surprisingly pleasant dreams. Visions of that future. He was older but not so old as his father, and his ship was the spitting image of the _Albatross_. Aika was there at his side; her grin was wide but her brown eyes held a little more worldliness. Shrewd like a cat and just as eager to pounce upon whatever adventure came their way. That wasn’t a surprise. It was a future he’d dreamt of before. What did catch him off guard, even in the world of dreams, was the other figure at his side: Fina.   
  
The blonde woman still wore white but her clothing was Meridian in fashion. She was still the kind and graceful woman he knew but there was the smallest hint of abandon to her features that made her all the more natural a companion to Vyse and Aika. The three of them were sailing through the clearest sky he’d ever seen. It felt so natural and so comfortable that the more they glided through the blue, the more it hurt to experience. It took a moment for Vyse to understand, enraptured by his dream as he was, that what he felt was longing. 

From time to time, his dreams would paint the most fantastical pictures: a cave of treasure fresh for the taking, a fleet for him to command. None of those things had ever felt like this. Of all the futures that he’d dreamt up, this simple image—three brave souls and an open sky—was the most intoxicating. He found himself caught between the comfort of his dream and a pull back to the real world. He might’ve stayed longer if not for a realization: the sooner he woke up, the sooner he could make this dream a reality.  
  
Of course, it helped that someone was pulling him back to his senses.   
  
“Vyse,” a voice called. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Aika’s gaze resting upon him. “Time to wake up. We’ll be shipping out soon.”   
  
The young man nodded, twisting in his hammock until he slipped to the side and fell to his feet. He immediately began to put his boots on. 

“Escort duty,” he said with a bit of a smirk. “With maybe a little trouble on the side.”  
  
“Sorry,” Aika murmured. It made Vyse pause and cast a look to his friend.   
  
“Nothing to apologize for,” he said. “We gotta do this if we want to get into Valua.”   
  
Aika shifted a bit in place. She flicked her fingers bashfully. “I meant sorry for waking you up.”   
  
Vyse stood up, boots firmly in place. He reached into a pocket and produced his goggle, fixing it upon his face with a light snap.   
  
“You’re sorry for waking me up?” Vyse’s tone hovered between confusion and warm amusement.   
  
“You looked comfortable,” the redhead explained. “Off on a grand adventure in dreamland, were you?”   
  
Vyse reached out and gave Aika a playfully light flick to the forehead. “Something like that,” he admitted. “You see, I had my own ship an-”   
  
“Boy! Lass! Haul yer damn keisters up here and step lively,” Drachma’s gravelly voice hollered from above. “We’re makin’ ready for Nasrad!”   
  
Vyse nodded toward the stairs and the pair quickly scampered up to the bridge where Drachma was waiting. His stern eye snapped between the two before he gave a groaning sigh and beckoned them over. It took a moment before Vyse realized that the captain wasn’t the only man on the bridge. To his side, Bader leaned over a map which was draped upon the _Little Jack_ ’s forward console. He peeped up and inclined his head towards the young rogues.   
  
“ _As-salamu alaykum_ ,” the old man greeted. Vyse half bowed back at the man. Aika smiled.   
  
“ _Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām_ ,” the redhead replied. She carried enough memories of her father and his friends that the words flowed easily. “Figured you’d be preparing on your own ship.”   
  
Bader shook his head. “No, no. I think it is better that we go over the particulars together ”   
  
“Iff’n there’s risk of Black Pirates, s’best we agree on o’course fer action,” Drachma agreed. “Now, fix yer eyes on the map as we suss out the plan.”

The pair walked over to look at the map. Bader’s calloused fingers rested on Sailor’s Island in the northern parts of Mid Ocean. It was the largest of the Meridian landmasses and a wide expanse separated it from the Valuan continent to the north. The old man began to trace a path up the map that eventually shifted towards the east. It flew through the fringes of Mid Ocean until it ran against a stone rift far too dangerous for even the _Little Jack_ to press through. Definitely too much for Bader’s merchant ship.   
  
Bader’s finger continued sliding towards Nasr airspace. “There is but one path home from Meridia,” he outlined. “These two ridges come together and form the Southern Dannel Strait. Nothing but the heartiest of warships can press through the nearby stone rifts, so all commerce and travel must come through here.”   
  
Vyse examined the map and looked at the small channel. It was a funnel that opened up into a brief stretch of sky. The capital city of Nasrad couldn’t have been more than a league from the entrance.   
  
“The perfect spot for a Black Pirate to attack,” he said. “Guaranteed to have fresh prey.”   
  
Aika tapped a finger upon her cheek in thought. “Why doesn’t the Nasrad Navy do anything about it?”   
  
Drachma huffed. “S’too big a risk,” he noted.   
  
“Just so,” Bader said. “Valua is easily agitated and movement south could be... misinterpreted.”   
  
“Kind way ‘o sayin’ them Valuans might angle into ’nother war,” Drachma explained. “Seein’ as their last scuffle with Nasr were a buncha manufactured bilge.”   
  
Bader nodded and the weight of old memories fell on his shoulders. “Our Navy maintains a border watch more than anything else,” the old man added. “Which my vessel will press towards should we run into troubles.”   
  
“Leaving us to run interference until you’re safe,” Vyse said with a nod. “That’s easy enough.”   
  
“You say that about everything,” Aika teased. “Valuans? Dread pirates? Easy enough!”   
  
“The confidence is most reassuring,” Bader said. He rolled up his map and took a step away from the group. “If we are fortunate there will be no trouble, but if so? It seems I have found hearty allies.” 

The comment elicited a forceful snuffing from Drachma. “We ain’t doin’ all fer kindness,” he reminded the merchant. “This be business. Yer safety fer tha passport.”  
  
Bader bowed respectfully. “You’ll have that and more,” he intoned. “For in helping me, you will have made a friend for life.”   
  
“What little of ours remains,” Drachma grunted. “We old-timers only got so much left.”   
  
The Nasrean shrugged. “All the more reason to live charitably,” he said. “Now! I shall make for my vessel. It will not take more than a half-day to reach home.”   
  
Vyse nodded. “You’ll be back beneath the Red Moon before you know it.”   
  
Bader paused and offered one last look at the young man. He smiled serenely.   
  
“With bold souls such as yourself at my side? I do not doubt it.” 

* * *

The _Little Jack_ sailed close to Bader’s merchant ship, the _Drajik_ , and pressed through the northernmost portions of the Mid Ocean with ease. The trip had been noteworthy only for how little noteworthy any of it was. The _Drajik_ was a rickety old dhow with a sizable hold and clearly aging engine which occasionally sputtered stobbornly. Reliable enough for a trader but easy pickings for anyone that might bother. It was easy to see why Bader felt the need to enlist an escort. The _Little Jack_ was forced to reduce speed lest she completely outpace her companion. It was much to Aika’s dismay when Drachma gave the order to cut the engines to the barest of moonstone burns and ride out the journey at only a moderate clip.   
  
The first real sign of progress was a slowly mounting heat. It started subtly but as the hours pressed on, an undeniable swelter began to sizzle throughout the _Little Jack_ . The sky took on the slightest touch of red shortly after. The Red Moon itself was not in sight but the glow was hard to ignore; it was as if the beams of a smaller, far more distant sun were mingling with the daylight.   
  
Vyse cast a sideways glance to Drachma, sweat rolling down his forehead, and the old man gave a quick nod before taking the ship’s wheel. The rogue quickly stepped away to pull off his blue sailing shirt and red scarf, stripping down to his undershirt and rolling up his sleeves before making his way back to the wheel.   
  
“I guess the stories about Nasrean heat are true after all,” the young man said.   
  
Drachma brought a hand up to wipe a bead of sweat from his own brow. “This ain’t the half of it, boy,” he explained. “Out in them far-stretched deserts… where sand flows far as the eye ken see.. them beams flop down hot ‘nuff to boil a man’s brains like burgoo.”   
  
There was a clamor as Aika flopped up the stairs. “Dad used to tell stories about it,” she added. “He said that Nasr deserts are so hot, if you walk around in the sun for too long, your hair catches on fire!”   
  
Vyse rolled his eyes although he hid the gesture from Aika. “You ever consider that your old man was spinning tall tales for a kid?”   
  
Aika shook her head. “It’s true,” she said. “Everyone carries buckets of water around with them, so they can put their friends' hair out.”   
  
“You really believe that?” Vyse chuckled before continuing. “Red Moon or not, that’s a bit much.”   
  
“Don't come crying to me when your head bursts into flames,” Aika muttered.   
  
“Quit yer damn flappin’,” Drachma arked at the pair. Up ahead, sheer rock walls were forming on islands floating to their sides. “We’re close. Time’s about we should keep our heads on tha swivel.”   
  
Vyse leaned forward and brought a hand up to his goggle. With a swift flick, he began to zoom in on the horizon.   
  
“No need for swiveling, Captain,” he said as his vision zoomed further ahead.   
  
A black-sailed ship approached in the distance. Through his goggle, Vyse could see its armored hull—a mixture of dark lumber with reliable, yellow moonstone-studded iron coverings—and rows of cannons. Eight to either side. The stern of the ship bore small fins similar to the _Little Jack_ ’s while the keel was marked by conspicuous spikes. They were most likely for ramming and scraping a target. The port side bore an ostentatious golden ornament of a skull; the ships anchor dangled slightly from its open mouth. A sable flag fluttered high on the mainmast: a skull with a scar mark down the front and a bushy beard with upturned mustache.   
  
“Looks like we’re in for mischief after all,” Vyse said with a confident smirk.   
  
“Aye,” Drachma agreed with just a hint of excitement in his voice. “We best batten down smartly. ‘Cause if this bastard thinks he’s got an easy catch, he’ll find there’s a damn gutty devil to pay.”

* * *

Baltor stood tall upon the _Blackbeard_ ’s stern deck and gazed out upon the skies before him. They weren’t Meridian skies or Nasrean skies; these were _his_ skies. The territory before the Southern Dannel Straight had shifted from neutral territory into his own personal playground. It had proven quite the amusement. The Valuan Armada rarely scouted south of the mainland and cared for little but their own vague ends. When one of their vessels edged into Baltor’s dominion, it was little more than a _Tsirat_ -class patrol ship. The _Blackbeard_ dealt with them swiftly, pillaging whatever spare weapons that the Valuans were foolish enough to arm their vessels with. Meanwhile, the Nasr Navy was content to huddle down like a tortigar and do little more than shore up their borders. A more patriotic man would scoff knowing his home nation had opted for cowardice but Baltor relished in their weakness.   
  
This state of affairs was all the better for him. Those senseless enough to run their goods through the area were waylaid swiftly; those foolish enough to resist were given no quarter. These were Black Pirate skies and given enough time, he might carve out more and more for himself. What started with the _Blackbeard_ would grow into a fleet and then into an empire unto itself. The only rule would be that there were no rules. Black Pirates took what they wanted whenever they wanted. His might would unite the unruly into a confederation of debauchery and pillage unlike the world had known and it would start here.   
  
_They’ll mark my legend by the sea of broken ships and bloody corpses left in my wake_ .   
  
The thought brought a wicked grin to his face. His yellowed teeth peered from beneath an enormous black beard and he managed to stand even taller. The wind blew, fluttering his faded green coat which was draped over his shoulders like a cape. He was the ideal image of a Black Pirate. Built like a tree trunk and unkempt as a crylhound. A large scar cut down across this face as a testament to his ferocity. The look suited his needs perfectly. Why fuss and fret over your looks when there was grog to guzzle and throats to slit?   
  
“Captain!” A gangly pirate shuffled to his side unctuously. “There's a Nasr merchant ship coming into view off port-side.”   
  
The dread pirate barked with delight. “A fine meal,” he said greedily. “Have the men make ready to board!”   
  
His subordinate raised his hand unexpectedly. “There’s something else, sir…”   
  
“Speak, you limp-necked ninny! What’s the snag?”   
  
The man gave a jerking bow as if to apologize for his spinelessness. “There's a strange ship following it very closely... I don't recognize its markings.”   
  
Baltor rifled through his coat pocket and pulled out a small telescope. He raised it to his eye and angled himself to look towards his prospective prey. The Nasrean ship looked common enough. A fair size that indicated a hold full of goods. It didn’t matter to him whether those were fruits, antiquities, guns, or anything in-between; he would take anything and everything. Running aside the ship was a small fishing vessel. It had a few cannons, which meant it wasn’t entirely helpless, but the hull bore bits of rust and its size paled in comparison to the _Blackbeard_ . An annoyance perhaps, but hardly anything that could deal with a burgeoning pirate lord like him. A prompt broadside would send the fishing ship tumbling to the Deep Sky if need be. He laughed raucously at the sight.   
  
“Gahahahahaha! There’s nothing to fear from _that_ dingy old jellyfish.”   
  
Baltor pocketed the telescope and stepped forward to call out to his men down on the middeck. For added effect, he drew a murky red moonstone hanger from his side and held it aloft. By happenstance, the sun managed to glint off the blade and catch his crews’ attention before he spoke. Baltor was not the smartest of captains or even the most vicious of Black Pirates yet—although he was working on both those things—but he did have a flair for the dramatic. Often that was good enough, he’d discovered. Piracy was part murder, part theater. If you looked the part and played the part, folks generally assumed you knew what you were doing. It helped that he’d managed to do more than alright for himself so far.   
  
“Alright, lads!” His baritone boomed across the decks. “Let's introduce these fools to the true meaning of fear! If they resist, raise the reds! They’ll know that I, Baltor, sent them plummeting to their deaths!!!”   
  
The crew gave a roar and began to rush and criss-cross about the deck. Cannons were loaded, weapons gathered, and the scent of blood filled the air. Baltor smirked.   
  
“They’ll make for the border,” Baltor said confidently. “Don't let them escape! And after? Take everything on board that isn't nailed down!”

* * *

“Right then, ya damned rats! Step lively! ”   
  
Drachma hollered the command towards his two tagalong “crewmates” and watched as the pair slipped into action. Vyse, ever intuitive and ready to toss himself into danger, began to turn the _Little Jack_ towards the incoming Black Pirate ship. Drachma stomped over to a secondary console.   
  
“Boy, I’mma trust ye with maneuvers,” he called over his shoulder. “Ain’t no one here what knows the _Jack_ ’s guns like me. We peel ‘ta position ‘an I’ll lay the shot down.”   
  
“From there?” Vyse was somewhat surprised that the old man could handle it from one aging console.   
  
“How’dya think I chase Rhaknam? All of the cannon’re linked on a yellow circuit,” he explained. “Sure, ye ken fire ‘em at their sides but I ken blast any ‘an all from here.”   
  
The old man scowled at Vyse after this. "Scuff up the _Jack_ and I'll crack yer skull. Understood?"  
  
Aika began to rush towards the deck. “I’ll signal Bader,” she said. “Make sure he knows to gun it for Nasr!” 

The redhead rushed through the doorway and onto the _Little Jack_ ’s middeck, turning for a moment to look at the encroaching enemy vessel and watched it grow larger and larger as it approached. She ran to the starboard side of the ship and spotted the _Drajik_. Reaching into her pouch, she brought her red moonstone to bear and tossed a _pyri_ spell into the air as a sort of makeshift flare. One flash and then a second **—** An agreed upon signal to tell the old man and his crew to press onwards. She saw Bader shuffle to the deck and crackle his own spell in reply. The merchant nodded his head in thanks, or perhaps it was a prayer for his defender’s safety, and returned towards the _Drajik_ ’s interior. The dhow proceeded further down the strait, pace increasing as it pressed towards safety.   
  
Aika ran back into the bridge. “He’s off,” she said. “I caught the flag out there. Bearded skull like we thought.”   
  
Drachma growled. “Baltor,” he intoned. “Lass, I need’ja down in the engine room. Save the reds fer emergency maneuvers. Blast us on blues until then!”   
  
“I’ll pop the second exhaust valve while I’m at it,” Aika said as she rushed down the stairs. “In case we really need to push her.”   
  
She spared a look at Vyse. “Let’s give ‘im hell!”   
  
Vyse laughed. “As if there’s anything else to give!”   
  
Aika offered a brisk salute and made way for the engine room. To Vyse’s side, Drachma began to calibrate the cannons. They gave a whirring shift as each came to life with a small spark of yellow moonstone energy. The old man gave a satisfied hum before looking towards Vyse.   
  
“We’re outnumbered fiercely,” he told Vyse. “So we cannae let ‘em get close ‘ta board. Watch yer distance so as we’re never in hook range. We’ll fight it at long.”   
  
Vyse nodded. “Aye,” he confirmed. “I’ll angle you for a shot and then shift in case of reply.”   
  
“Full broadside from a ship like that’ll eat us,” Drachma noted. “But we’re darty fast so we’ll chip ‘im shot fer shot.”

There was a loud boom in the distance. A whistling screech burst through the sky, high pitch falling lower until a blast rocked the _Little Jack_ . The ship shook as it narrowly avoided a fresh shrapnel shot from the _Blackbeard_. Vyse and Drachma braced upon the bridge and peered towards the approaching galleon.   
  
“Report,” Drachma called into a speaking tube. There was a clattering of noise before Aika’s voice replied.   
  
“Singed but fine,” she said. “Engine’s rattling but we’re churning blues at a steady pace. You okay?”   
  
“Fine,” Drachma replied. “Start feedin’ them reds. If the bastard’s eager, let’s give ‘im a blast back.”   
  
Vyse nodded. The _Little Jack_ began to dart towards Baltor’s ship as the engines picked up pace 

“I’ll get you within range for a volley,” the young rogue relayed. “After the mark, we’re gonna rise to avoid whatever he sends back.” He raised his voice. “Hear that, Aika? We’ll need a kick after our broadside!”  
  
“Got it, got it!”   
  
Vyse took a breath and pressed the throttle up. He looked to Drachma. “You trust me?”   
  
“Not at all,” the old man replied with a bark that might have been laughter. “But I also ain’t scared of dyin’ so let’s be on with this shite.”   
  
The _Little Jack_ continued to streak towards the _Blackbeard_ , its fins pumping at an increased pace. The ship crossed a low cloud and rode the edge. A streak of white followed in her wake. In his heart, Vyse felt a mixture of excitement and fear unlike anything he’d experienced before. So this was what it was like to be at the wheel in a fight; this was what it meant to hold a ship and her crew in your hands. There wasn’t a Moons’ damned chance he was going to let this be the last time. This would be the first of many battles. He knew it in his gut. Which is why his fear burned hot until the edges melted away and all that was left was pure determination.   
  
_If this blackguard wants trouble, I’m gonna give him more than he’s ever seen._   
  
The green-armored fishing vessel rushed beside the fierce galleon. Vyse waited a moment. Not yet, not yet. Not until all three starboard cannons were along her enemy’s side. It took only a few seconds before they were aligned.   
  
“Now!” The young rogue gave the order with starling confidence. “Fire!”   
  
Drachma slammed a button on his console and a jolt of yellow moonstone magick flashed the cannons. All three fired at once with a mighty kick that Vyse compensated for by shifting his weight against the wheel. There was a snapping sound like a mighty bone had cracked in the sky. Drachma peered towards their target and saw wood splintering into the air.   
  
“We got ‘er, boy!”   
  
Vyse called louder. “Aika, give her a kick!”   
  
“Heeeere we go!”   
  
Vyse pressed a nearby lever upwards. The _Little Jack_ rushed higher with only moments to spare as the _Blackbeard_ ’s fiery reply came rushing in. A full broadside blast that the stalwart fishing vessel avoided by mere feet. The wind beneath them whistled again as the ship rose upwards. Baltor had missed.   
  
Vyse exhaled raggedly. Drachma did likewise.

“Pushin’ yer damn luck with a miss narrow as that, ya dafter.”  
  
Vyse hardly heard Drachma. He felt that strange pump of adrenaline that only came with narrowly avoiding death. “Yeah, well... If Baltor wants to dance, he’s gonna need to do better than that.”

* * *

Aboard the _Blackbeard_ , Baltor gave a bellow worthy of an arcwhale. He’d endured a cannon shot here or there but that had been against Valuan patrols or would-be Black Pirate rivals. When he’d set his sights on that tiny merchant and their rusty green escort, it had seemed like easy pickings. When the fishing ship peeled off on an intercept course, the bellicose captain and his crew had laughed. Their warning volley hadn’t been enough to scare the ‘heroes’ off but there was little to fear from such a ramshackle and beaten-down ship. Or so he thought. Whatever cannons that damn thing packed were damn near top of the line.   
  
That also might’ve been fine. The _Blackbeard_ was armored enough to endure a broadside from three cannons even if they were admittedly mighty. His own blast would surely smack that annoying fly out of the sky. Except it hadn’t. Instead, the devilish little thing had soared away and his crew was in disarray trying to patch torn up hull segments and quell angry embers aboard _his_ ship. The whole damn thing was backwards. So he roared and huffed up a storm.   
  
“Those arrogant, no good, dirty shit-heels!” He stamped his foot angrily before finding some measure of composure. “That old ship's tough. I’ll give her that much.”   
  
The Black Pirate craned his head to watch as the fishing ship continued to climb up towards the high cloud layer. A grin cut across his face. If they wanted to play it like that, he had the perfect answer: a fresh gift stolen from a Valuan patrol.   
  
Brimming with anger but certain of his coming victory, Baltor called out a fresh order.   
  
“Fire torpedoes, lads!”

* * *

The _Little Jack_ leveled out above the _Blackbeard_ and everyone aboard breathed a collective sigh. Baltor hadn’t given chase. That allowed a welcome moment to reassess the situation and figure out what their next move would be. It was a strange thing to find quiet in the middle of a battle.   
  
“We can’t risk another move like that,” Vyse mused aloud. “We need to find a way to end this fast.”   
  
Drachma grunted in agreement. “The _Jack_ ’s a fast blighter but a stray move’ll knock us into Hell,” he said before calling into the speaking tube. “How’s the scuff down there, lass?”   
  
Aika’s voice reverberated back. “She’s running real hot,” she replied. “At this rate we’ll burn through more moonstones than you’d probably like.” 

“There’s a scant stock of purples down there,” Drachma called. “Rare things but they’ll help cool ‘er down some.”  
  
“Aye, captain.”   
  
Vyse took another breath as he listened to the conversation. Slowly, an idea was forming in his head. 

“That’s gotta be it..”  
  
Drachma raised an eyebrow. “Wassat, boy?”   
  
“If we can’t risk broadsides, we need to pick a different target,” Vyse said. “His armor is thickest on the sides anyway so if we circle to the rear, we might be able to catch his engine. A clean shot could send him running.”   
  
“Ain’t the worst notion” Drachma offered. “No cannons to guss our hides with ‘an we got the firepower.”   
  
“We’ll ride out far and pull her about,” Vyse concluded. “Run to her back and cross the T.”   
  
Drachma nodded but voiced some doubt. “Ain’t exactly an uncommon tactic.”   
  
“Pretty damn _common_ enemy though,” the young rogue thought aloud. “I doubt Baltor’s read even a spit of a tactical manual in his life. He acts a feralisk but he’s really a huskra. Which means all we have to do is..””   
  
_FWOOOSH!_   
  
A blistering object hissed through the air next to the _Little Jack_ . It was quickly followed by another streaking _something_ that zipped close enough to rock the ship. Vyse braced the wheel and righted. He cast a confused look around for the source of the attack. “He’s not firing cannons up, is he? What the hell!”   
  
Drachma grunted negatively. “Those ain’t cannon shots,” he noted. “Them be torpedoes.”   
  
Vyse’s eyes went wide. “Aika heard about them in the port,” he said. “How does Baltor have that kind of firepower?”   
  
“Dun matter,” Drachma hollered. “What matters is dodging ‘em, ya loon! Cut that wheel lest they fall on our heads!”   
  
Aika heard it all down in the engine room, popping up from under the engine’s frame where she’d been depositing choice purple moonstones and rushing over to the speaking tube. “We’re gonna need to do more than that,” she called out. “Unless we lower altitude fast, the game’s over.”   
  
The redhead began to look about the engine room even as she felt the _Little Jack_ began to pitch downwards. A pit formed in her stomach. They weren’t going fast enough and there was only one way she could think of how to fix that. She turned back to the voicepipe.   
  
“Vyse, Captain! You gotta hold tight to something and do it now!”   
  
Drachma’s growling voice filtered back to her. “Lass, what’re ya doin’?”   
  
“Something really, really stupid! But it’s gonna save our lives.”   
  
Aika wheeled about and rushed back to the engine. She took a deep breath and searched until she found what she was looking for: the emergency shutdown valve. She grabbed a nearby lever and jerked it downwards with a deperate yank. The engine immediately began to sputter until it stopped entirely. For a moment, there was silence and then she felt her stomach kick upwards as the _Little Jack_ didn’t simply begin to low altitude but instead began to fall out of the sky like a pistol-shot bird. Down, down, down...   
  
Vyse’s voice rattled through the voicepipe. “Aika! You gotta kick her back into gear or else we’ll…”   
  
“I know, I know,” Aika called back. She was already making her way back to the engine with a fresh heap of red moonstones in her hand. She fed them quickly into its gullet and slammed on the ignition. It didn’t give. The _Little Jack_ was still falling and the torpedoes were certainly not far behind. Pinta had said that the way to best them was to dive low. This wasn’t quite “diving” but it would have to do. All that was left was hope that the _Little Jack_ was falling fast enough to outrun the ordinance as it fell downwards.   
  
What couldn’t have been more than five seconds felt like five years as the _Little Jack_ plummeted further and further. The pit in Aika’s stomach grew; she closed her eyes in fear. If she was wrong about this, they’d all be dead in moments.   
  
_C’mon. C’mon._ _  
_ _  
_ A thunderous clap rocked the sky as the _Blackbeard_ ’s torpedoes detonated. Aika opened her eyes and found, to her absolute shock and delight, she was not dead. Was she still inside a falling ship with no engine power? Yes, but that meant her gamble had paid off. The _Little Jack_ had fallen fast enough to avoid the torpedo blasts.That was one problem solved but if left another. She rushed to feed another helping of red moonstones into the engine’s receiver and began to pump the ignition lever over and over until the damned thing roared to life.   
  
“She’s back!”   
  
That was all Vyse’s needed to hear. Upon the bridge, he began to wheel the ship about until he was all but perpendicular with the _Blackbeard_ . The galleon had pressed further towards the strait in hopes of snagging whatever prey it could and the _Little Jack_ , through a mixture of luck and Aika’s quick work, had found buoyancy on an almost equal altitude with their foe. He shook off his astonishment and pressed the ship’s throttle to full, rushing on a burst of wind and engine power until the fishing vessel arced about on the _Blackbeard’s_ rear. It was as ridiculous as it was perfect.   
  
“Captain! Fire!”   
  
Drachma slammed his fist down on the console. “Take this, ya langer!”   
  
The _Little Jack_ kicked as its cannons belched fire and fury. The shots sailed forward and slammed into the _Blackbeard_ ’s stern with a crash that kicked up the hull into splintery shards. There was a beat and then another explosion. A gout of fire rushed from the ship’s freshly-wounded rear; they’d landed a direct hit on the engine. Almost immediately, the galleon began to list downwards and peel off away from the strait. The pirates were turning tail. The once-formidable ship bobbed away, leaving a trail of black smoke billowing behind it.   
  
Hands planted upon the _Little Jack_ ’s wheel, Vyse’s eyes went wide as he watched his foe drift away.   
  
“We did it…” 

* * *

Chaos filled the _Blackbeard_ ’s decks as crewmen rushed to haul powder and moonstones away from spreading flames and somehow manage to keep their hover engines from falling offline entirely. Not a soul aboard could believe what had happened; each and every pirate felt as if they’d been doused with a bucket of ice water. Even as they worked to keep the galleon afloat, there was a sense that they’d all fallen into some sort of dream. Half comedy, half nightmare. How else would you describe another ship literally falling from the upper sky layer into the perfect position to shatter your stern? It was amazing. It was terrifying. It was some true and utter _bullshit._   
  
Baltor kept his gaze fixed on the fishing ship that served him such a bitter defeat, face burning red with apoplexy. It was then that he finally recognized his foe. It was Cold Steel Drachma’s ship. What had it been called? The _Joey_ ? The _Jackdaw_ ? No, that wasn’t it. _Little Jack_ ! Aye, that was the name and yet the way she’d moved was nothing like he’d seen before. It was reckless and fresh, both amateur and bold. Even if that was Cold Steel’s ship, someone else was behind the helm. He was sure of it.   
  
“You were lucky this time,” he muttered under his breath. “You damn dirty hellkite…”   
  
A fresh explosion rocked the ship as a collection of moonstones burst below the deck. Baltor took cover before rising to watch as his ship, the anchor upon which he wanted to build a feckless empire, burned. Blood roiling, he rushed further down the deck and stood upon the capstan. His gaze remained locked on the _Little Jack_ .   
  
“Upon my damned soul, you’ll rue the day you ever crossed paths with me!” he bellowed into the firmament. “I will hunt you down and have my revenge! In this life or the hereafter!” 

* * *

Bader was true to his word and then some. Having fled safely into Nasr airspace, the old merchant ventured out from behind the border’s defensive line and heartily welcomed his savior aboard the _Drajik_ for a quick afternoon’s lunch and an exchange of goods. The passport was modest enough—Vyse thought it funny that a small handful of papers were going to be such a crucial part of his rescue plan—but Bader was not content to simply offer a meal and the documents. Instead he’d managed a small gift for each member of the _Little Jack’_ ’s crew. For Vyse, he offered a keen whetstone of fine Nasrean ore that was perfect for sharpening both metal and moonstone blades. Drachma received a canister of fine oil that the merchant insisted would be perfect for greasing the joints of his mechanical arm. Finally, Aika was given a somewhat revealing but nevertheless beautiful outfit. It was the least he could do, or so Bader said, to give the young woman something from the homeland.   
  
They didn’t linger too long however. Drachma grumbled that every passing moment was one away from Valua which technically meant another hour away from hunting Rhaknam. He’d left Vyse at the helm for the remainder of the journey towards Valuan space and retired to his private quarters to make the necessary forgerie and adjustments to Bader’s passport. The story would be simple enough if anyone asked. They were a fisher vessel en route to Valua for repairs. It was close to the truth as long as no one mentioned that the crew was mostly Blue Rogues and the ship was being “repaired” with a large and possibly illegal harpoon cannon. Not that Drachma expected the Valuans to ask too many questions.  
  
So it was that Vyse spent the final leg of the journey piloting the _Little Jack_ and excitedly talking about the day’s events with Aika. Without Drachma’s watchful gaze, it almost felt like they had their own ship. For his part, Vyse couldn’t quite understand why Drachma was helping them. Yes, they’d greased the axels with talks of a massive arcwhale-killing cannon but if that was the old man’s only concern he might as well have left them on Sailor’s Island and set sail for Valua by himself. Instead, he’d placed his trust in Vyse and even in Aika. It wasn’t a small thing to let someone else helm your ship or poke about her engine.   
  
It was a mystery for another time. As they reached the Valua border, Drachma stomped onto the bridge and took command. They drew upon a small patrol boat and presented their documentation. There were a few idle questions about “how the fish were biting” but little else. Drachma gave word to proceed further. The sky began to grow dark and the air grew hazy. A yellow glow beamed from above. A hint of the Yellow Moon’s power seemed to buzz in the air as the _Little Jack_ moved onwards.  
  
“It’s starting to feel a bit more real now,” Aika said to Vyse. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?”  
  
Vyse grinned. “You know it,” he replied. “I’m surprised though. I thought getting into Valua would be tougher. When we make port, we’ll need to..”   
  
His statement was cut off as a blinding light flashed into the _Little Jack_ ’s bridge. For a moment, Vyse wondered if the patrols had seen through their documents after all but then he saw what was really happening. The _Little Jack_ pressed through the fog and revealed a sight unlike anything he could imagine. A massive gate had been built into the Valuan continent. It towered above passing patrols and other vessels, scanning the skies with an array of searchlights. Even the largest ships looks like flies fluttering next to the giant wall. Instinctively, Vyse leaned forward and marveled at the monstrosity. Aika gasped at his side.  
  
“What the hell is that? It’s huge!” Her voice shook with nerves.  
  
Drachma plodded towards the forward window. “S’the Grand Fortress,” he explained. “The only way into Valua. Seein’ as most the continent is coated in impassable mountains what no ship can climb over.”  
  
Vyse scowled at the terrifying display. “I can’t believe they built something that big.”  
  
“It’s strong too,” Drachma added. “During the war, Nasr forward fleet gathered near one hundred ships to bombard the damn thing but the walls held firm. May be that gate’s the strongest thing in th’world.”  
  
The Grand Fortress began to rumble as the front slowly rotated outwards. It was enough to leave a gap for ships to enter and to reveal an array of cannons and flak guns on the inner portion of the gate.   
  
“It’s not just a gate, it is?” Aika asked the question with grim worry touching at her voice.  
  
Drachma nodded. “Backside is lined with cannons,” he said. “Them were nearly enough to wipe out all of Nasrean forces what tried to shell it. S’both an impassable wall and a damn death machine. ‘An it only opens once a day, so ye best start guidin’ us towards it, boy.”  
  
Vyse nodded. He pressed the _Little Jack_ ’s throttle up slightly and began to direct the ship towards the entrance. “You make it sound like some invincible fortress,” he said. “I don’t believe it.”  
  
“Ain’t no one ever escaped from the Grand Fortress,” Drachma said with a scoff.  
  
“And that’s where they’re probably keeping Fina and the others,” Aika added.  
  
Drachma stroked his beard. “Well, actually… I hear there’s one way outta there.”  
  
Vyse looked at the old man with burning interest. “What’s that?”  
  
“After them Valuans execute folks, they toss the bodies right off the continent.”  
  
The comment elicited a chuckle from Vyse. Drachma gave the young man a bewildered look.  
  
“I love a challenge,” Vyse said confidently. “And the only reason no one’s escaped is because _I_ haven’t tried yet. You’ll see, captain. Nothing’s gonna keep me from saving everyone..”  
  
As the _Little Jack_ sailed into the fortress, Vyse took a deep breath and steeled his mind for what was to come. It didn’t matter if he had to blast the Grand Fortress down piece by piece. He’d bring everyone home.  
  
 _Dad. Fina._ _I’m coming.._.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter posed a unique challenge! I'm not someone who really enjoys technical, nitty-gritty writing; I much rather prefer dialogue and internal stuff. That doesn't mean I dislike writing sword fights or action-pieces but I do find them a bit of a balancing act. Writing needs to have a pace and if you're over explaining everything, a battle scene won't flow. On the other hand, if you're scant with details your scenes become blurry slush.
> 
> I tried to find a balance here but I've never written a naval battle before. I thought about keeping it really clinical but since I knew I wanted to pay off Pinta's comment about torpedoes from the last chapter, I shot for the moon instead. My hope is that the results are both technical enough that airships feel mechanical and "real" but also that the scene was the type of broad and sweeping excitement the makes Skies of Arcadia special. I don't think all ship battle scenes in this novelization will be as broken down beat for beat—hell, I can think of one that might get cut—but I do want them to feel tactical... even if there's only so much "realness" to the tactics here. 
> 
> The next chapter will hopefully come a bit faster than these last two, since I'm on a brief vacation from work. We'll be heading to Valua, which will offer a lot of chances for original scenes and other additions/alterations. I'm excited for the possibilities and the opportunity to give a little more time to different characters as we paint a portrait of intrique under the Yellow Moon.
> 
> Very much interested in feedback here. If you've made it this far, I assume you're enjoying the story but this was a change of pace from the type of action we had before. Curious to know if it worked!


	12. A Gilded Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underneath the Yellow Moon, admirals scheme and royals dream of divergent paths for the nation of Valua. In the middle of it all, Fina struggles to navigate her newfound status as a prisoner while Dyne prepares to pay the ultimate price for his life of piracy.

It felt like the sky couldn’t get any darker as Fina looked outside. The window of her bedchamber—prison, really—offered a clear view of Valua’s inky skies. The clouds, locked in a state of smoggy sickness, filled the air to the point that the Yellow Moon would sometimes disappear from view entirely. She couldn’t tell which of those clouds were naturally occurring side-effects of the moon’s voltaic might and which were pollution from the Upper City. The Valuan capital of Riqueza teemed with mechanical marvels that nearly matched the old world—electric lamp posts, a railway that circled the entire city, moveable bridges and automatic gates—but they lacked elegance and efficiency. The Valuans didn’t live in harmony with their mother moon; they lived in a competition with it. Each of their inventions seemed based on one idea: the moon’s power was something to seize greedily. The result was a curtain of pollution that irrefutably draped over the land.  
  
Fina looked at it all, sadness filling her eyes to the brim. The Upper City might’ve looked like a sparkling paradise at first glance but it was a monument to greed and excess. This was made more obvious by another fact: the Upper City was only one half of Riqueza. Another half, a towering heap of broken stone and dingey metal homes, sat across from the Upper City. The two were separated by a murky lake whose waters occasionally radiated xanthous energy. An entire portion of Valua’s peoples were living in abject squalor. Fina looked at it, little more than a broken heap in the distance, and felt her heart nearly break entirely. What she wouldn’t give to heal this sickly place. Instead, she was a prisoner, locked away like some terrible secret.  
  
Which was why she was so shocked that her quarters were more than comfortable. The room, situated in a distant wing of the Imperial Palace, was clearly meant for visiting dignitaries or other important guests. It held a large bed, reading table and bookshelf, and even a fireplace that could light with a nearby button press. Under better circumstances, she might’ve resided here as a welcome envoy. Instead, she’d been kept under guard for days on end. The door was locked and a powerful magical ward further sealed the threshold. The first time she attempted to dispel it, a potent sigil had formed that retaliated with enervating magicks. There were entire days where she struggled in vain to obviate the ward but she invariably found herself drained of energy. It only opened once each day when meals were brought in.  
  
What shocked Fina more than anything else in this arrangement was how quickly she’d accepted her new normal. Or at least part of it. There wasn’t a moment she didn’t yearn for escape but she eventually stopped her attempts to wrest the door open. The days started to blur, each passing moment weighing upon her. There was nothing but solitude and dark skies. So different from the warm sunset that she watched with Vyse and Aika. Wherever they were now felt impossibly far away.

Fina brought a hand to the translucent silver bracelet on her wrist and began to stroke it. There had to be something she could do. A moment would present itself where someone would drop their guard and she’d be able to do something. _Anything_ . The question was, even if she escaped her quarters what would come next? Would there be any way to free Captain Dyne and the others? Were they even alive?  
  
She felt the air stir. Fina always had a particular sensitivity to magicks and was able to sense even their most subtle affectations. There were near-imperceptible changes that signaled spells. In this case, she sensed a pressure near the door dissipate. She turned in time to watch as the telltale energy of the warding spell faded away. It wasn’t so different from any of the other times the spell was removed save for a tingle of familiarity that she knew all too well. Fina walked away from the window and towards the center of the room. There was a loud click as the door unlocked and Rami, silver hair glistening beneath the room’s moonstone lamps, entered. He regarded Fina with a cold eye for a moment before it faded into something softer as he affected a small smile.  
  
“They tell me that you’ve stopped your attempts to tamper with the ward,” he said calmly. “Was my magic really so hard for you to erase? Elder Halos trained you better than that.”  
  
Fina narrowed her eyes. “ _Your_ magic,” she repeated softly. “Why are you doing this, Rami?”  
  
Her friend—if he could still be called that—turned towards the door and beckoned to a servant who nervously skittered into the room. She placed a tray of soup on the table before leaving and closing the door behind her. Rami gestured to the tray. 

“You should eat.”  
  
The young mage scoffed bewilderedly. “That’s what you came here for? To tell me to eat?!”  
  
A flash of frustration cut across Rami’s features before he dismissed it and sat at the table. Fina hesitated a moment before finally joining him.  
  
“I came here to help you,” he said. For a wonderful moment, Fina felt a hint of hope. “They’ll be taking you to an audience with the Empress today. Tell them everything you know. Answer any question they ask.”  
  
Fina shook her head. “We can’t tell a soul about why we’re here,” she said firmly. “It’s too dangerous.”  
  
“They already know,” Rami snapped. “About the crystals! About the Gigas! I told them, Fi! _You_ are going to help us find them.”  
  
“Why would I do that?” Fina’s reply came quickly. “You told me these people crave war. If they wake even a single one of those beasts, it would be disastrous.”  
  
“There’s only one way I can guarantee your safety,” Rami said seriously. “And that’s if you cooperate.”  
  
Fina blinked. She was dumbfounded. Rami had been sent before her to the surface with the same goal she had and yet somehow here he was entangled in the ranks of a vicious empire. At every step of her journey thus far, the Valuans had proven themselves a cruel people. Where was the sweet boy she knew all those years ago? What happened to turn her dear friend and hero into this?  
  
“They’re not your people,” Fina said adamantly. “You know what happened to the Old World, Rami. We need to bring the crystals home. That’s the only way _anyone_ will be safe!”  
  
Rami sighed disappointedly, pushing away from the table and striding toward the window. He looked up at the moon. “Do you remember when we were little, Fi? I would look down at this world…”  
  
“For hours,” Fina finished.  
  
“Do you know what I saw?” Rami’s voice grew bitter. “I saw a world made of glass. Fragile and helpless.”  
  
Fina stood. “We came here to help it,” she said softly. “Rami, there’s still time..”  
  
The young man rounded on her. His face was screwed up in pain. “I promise you,” he said. “If you do what the Elders ask, you’ll do more harm than this entire empire ever could.”  
  
“I don’t understand.”  
  
Rami took a ragged breath and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tell them,” he said. “If they ask where the crystals are, tell them. My job was always to scout ahead and prepare for your arrival.. Learn about these people..” He locked eyes with her.  
  
“But _you_ know,” he observed. “If you want to live… and if you want to save this world… you’ll tell them. It's the only way..”  
  
Fina shook her head. “You know I can’t do that.”  
  
Rami removed the hand and paced, trying to find the words he needed that would break through Fina’s stubbornness. He prowled back and forth like a ragged dog until he finally spoke again.  
  
“Lord Galcian has a plan,” he finally admitted. “If we can get _him_ the crystals, this _fragile_ world can finally know order. All you need to do is.. ”  
  
Fina started to back away. There was such a deep devotion in Rami’s voice that she instantly understood what was happening. The young man paused as his counterpart narrowed her eyes in disappointment.  
  
“He sent you,” she said knowingly. “You came here because you were told to..”  
  
Rami paused. The softest flicker of shame touched his features before he spoke. 

“He thought it would be better this way,” he said plainly. “We hoped that you’d listen but I can see there’s no changing your mind.”  
  
“No,” Fina said with a shake of her head. “I will not let history repeat itself.”  
  
"It already is..."  
  
They looked at each other. Two friends who had found each other after nearly a decade. The only two of their kind in the entire world. It was clear that even though they were right next to each other, there was an irreconcilable gulf between the pair. The warrior and the priestess. Rami’s conviction for his new master stood equal with Fina’s devotion to her duty. It hurt Fina more than anything she’d ever known.  
  
“Your soup’s gone cold,” Rami said darkly. Fina kept her gaze locked upon him.  
  
“Go back to your master,” she said. “... _Ramirez_.”  
  
A flash of rage rippled through the man’s features. He raised his hand sharply as if to strike Fina but at the sight of her fear-stricken face managed to stop himself before it was too late. He lowered his hand slowly before exhaling a tattered breath.  
  
“We _will_ find them,” Ramirez spat. “One way or another.”  
  
The air grew cold between them and it felt like an unspoken eternity passed before the sound of muffled voices by the door drew their attention. Ramirez narrowed his gaze, wondering who would have the arrogance to intrude. He expected a presumptuous servant or perhaps even a guard sent by Lord Galcian bearing some form of news. When the door opened, however, he was faced with someone else entirely.  
  
A young man with fine blonde hair entered the room, sweeping gallantly by the guards posted outside and stepping forward with confident and well-practiced strides. He wore a deep lilac ensemble of the finest materials—a silken vest and matching cravat, white gloves, a feathered cap that bordered being too dapper—which was covered in part by a gleaming armored chest plate. His soft blue eyes glanced from Fina to Ramirez, taking note of the woman’s fearful expression. 

“Enrique..” Ramirez muttered the name with deep annoyance. “What a.. welcome surprise.”  
  
A white-gloved finger rose in reply as he reached the pair. “That’s _Prince_ Enrique to you, Vice-Captain,” he chided. His voice was light but held a deceptive sliver of authority. “Is there a problem here?”  
  
Ramirez shifted his weight, giving the man a perfunctory bow. “No, Your Highness,” he said. “Lord Galcian merely wished that I check on the prisoner.”  
  
Enrique looked at him with concern. 

“Our _guest_ ,” he corrected.  
  
“Of course, Your Highness,” Ramirez intoned. It was clear that he was displeased with the man’s presence although if Enrique was aware it didn’t seem to bother him. The prince looked over Ramirez’ shoulder at Fina.  
  
“I’d like to speak with her,” he said.  
  
“The Empress has called for an audience,” Ramirez noted. “Our _guest_ is required to stay here until that time.”  
  
“That’s fine,” Enrique said chipperly. “She and I can speak here.”  
  
“Perhaps I should stay,” Ramirez suggested. “To ensure your safety.”  
  
“That won’t be necessary.”  
  
“I insist,” Ramirez said. “She is more dangerous than she looks.”  
  
Enrique’s features shifted into a bemused smile. “Shall I repeat myself, Vice-Captain?”  
  
“No,” Ramirez answered. “It’s simply my duty to worry about your safety. After all, it would be a... shame if something were to happen to you.”  
  
The affected concern in Ramirez’ voice edged upon the lines of sarcasm. The prince gave a light chuckle and once again looked to Fina. He smiled at her and, to her surprise, an ease fell over her mind.  
  
“We’ll be alright,” he said while still looking at Fina.  
  
Fina wasn’t sure if she was permitted to speak. She elected for a quiet nod. Enrique raised his hand in something of a dramatic shrug as he turned back to Ramirez. “There we have it. I’ll be quite safe.”  
  
“So it seems,” Ramirez said. He didn’t move.  
  
“That will be enough, Vice-Captain,” Enrique added with an extra modicum of command.

Ramirez brought a fist across his chest in a salute, bowing enough to show deference but perhaps not as much as etiquette demanded. Only one man commanded his full respect and it certainly wasn’t Enrique. He chanced one last look to Fina before walking towards the door.  
  
“Give my regards to the Lord-Admiral,” Enrique added precisely. Ramirez paused.  
  
“Perhaps I will,” he said suggestively before affecting one more nod and shutting the door behind him. Fina audibly exhaled; it both hurt and relieved her to watch him leave the room. Enrique walked to her and placed a kind hand on her shoulder. The woman stiffened nervously before finding it within herself to relax.  
  
“Are you alright?” Enrique’s question was a balm that Fina wasn’t aware she needed. “You’re rather shaken.”  
  
Fina pondered over her answer before nodding plaintively. “It was… not easy to see him.”  
  
“Because you know each other,” Enrique said. He removed his hand from her shoulder and took a full step back that she might have some space. Fina looked at him nervously.  
  
“He and I..” She didn’t finish. There were no good words to be found.  
  
Enrique smiled. It was a somewhat sad thing. 

“Where are my manners? I am Enrique Luis Alonso Mateo Vázquez, Crown Prince of Valua. On behalf of my people, I apologize for any mistreatment you’ve endured during your stay.”  
  
“My name is Fina,” came the reply. The young mage gave a formal bow worthy of her Elders. Enrique chuckled somewhat in amusement. “I’ve not been... harmed but I assure you I am not here by choice.”  
  
The prince nodded. “Such was my worry,” he said. “I was informed that you were rescued from pirates but the situation seemed amiss.”  
  
“I wasn’t rescued,” Fina explained nervously. “Your people took me against my will. The pirates were helping me. Sheltering me.”  
  
“Until you could continue your mission?” Enrique’s question cut deep. He absolutely knew more than she was comfortable with.  
  
Fina frowned. “How much has Ramirez shared?”  
  
“Plenty,” Enrique said seriously. “I know that you are both Silvites, one of the last of the people who lived under the Silver Moon in the Old World. I know that you’ve been sent on a mission to find the Moon Crystals. And I know that’s because the crystals grant control over the Gigas. Great beasts of insurmountable power..”  
  
Fina sighed disappointedly. “We were supposed to tell no one,” she said sadly. “Yet he has told so much to such a dangerous people.”  
  
Enrique gestured to the table and sat down. Fina soon joined him.  
  
“I have a theory, Fina,” he offered. “That we have similar worries about these crystals.”  
  
“I’m unsure of that,” Fina said diplomatically. “Everyone I’ve spoken to here seems set on acquiring the crystals regardless of the harm it might cause.”  
  
“That’s why I’m worried,” Enrique offered genuinely. “The Gigas heralded the end of the Old World. I fear that recovering the crystals would spell ruin for my people. When I voice this fear to my mother, she ignores me.”  
  
“Your mother is the leader of this country, yes? The Armada attacked me when I arrived and attacked my friends. Is this your mother’s will?”  
  
“Yes and no,” Enrique said. “She has been taken by grief for ages. For my part, I think we’re on the wrong path.”  
  
“Grief? What happened?”  
  
“My father died,” the prince explained. “There was a war. Our nation was facing a shortage of moonstones; my father didn’t wish to fight but the nobility exerted pressure until it was unavoidable.”  
  
The young man sighed. “My father was acting as the Lord-Admiral of the Armada,” he said. “Until his flagship was destroyed in the midst of a battle. I remember my mother before that day. She was a stern woman, yes, but there was kindness as well.”  
  
“Until she lost something she cared about,” Fina said intuitively. “Was that truly enough to change her?”  
  
“It was,” Enrique said. “She grew more paranoid. Saw threats in every shadow. Galcian was all too eager to stoke that fear. And then the Armada discovered your friend..”

“I don’t know if he’s that anymore,” Fina conceded sadly. “He’s very much changed from the boy I knew.”  
  
“Perhaps there’s cause for that,” Enrique mused. “He was found seven years ago and came into the service of the Lord-Admiral at the time, a man called Mendosa. Until there was an incident..”

“What sort of incident?” Fina could hardly imagine what could have affected Ramirez so deeply.  
  
“He killed Mendosa,” Enrique replied coolly. “I can only speculate as to why but instead of facing execution, the new Lord-Admiral… Galcian… took him into his service. After that, Ramirez opened up about his mission.”  
  
“I feared that he died down here,” Fina said. “In some ways, I think he has..”  
  
Enrique nodded. “I admit, Fina, that I am afraid..”

“Of the Gigas?”  
  
“Of _us_ ,” Enrique clarified. “Of the deeds we would perform with such creatures at our command.”  
  
“Everything would end,” Fina affirmed.  
  
“Then we must dissuade my mother from this course,” Enrique said. “You understand the situation better than anyone, even Ramirez. There’s no way she could ignore your words. I’m sure of it!”  
  
Fina hesitated for a moment. 

“Ramirez said that I’d be killed if I didn’t cooperate,” she explained darkly. “He said that if I wanted to live, I should speak of everything I know.”  
  
Enrique sat in silence for a moment as he considered this. “They need you in order to find the crystals, yes?”  
  
“That’s hardly reassuring,” Fina shot back. “At best it means that I’m a prisoner again.”  
  
Enrique nodded. “Yes, although you and I together could change my mother’s mind. It might be the only way to stop any of this.”  
  
“We could run,” Fina said. For a brief moment, the simple suggestion seemed to ignite possibilities in Enrique that he’d not even begun to consider.

“I fear we would not get far,” he finally said. He was trying to convince himself more than Fina. “I know it is... unreasonable of me to make requests but I ask that you speak truthfully to my mother today. Can you do this?”  
  
Fina hesitated for a moment. Ramirez’ warnings rang in her ears until she found the strength to nod.  
  
“I can,” she said. “But you need to accept that might not be enough.  
  
Enrique looked at Fina seriously. “I will make you a promise: so long as I draw breath, you will not be harmed while under the Yellow Moon’s light. I swear it.”  
  
Fina managed a smile. “Thank you.”  
  
The prince stood from his seat. Fina followed suit, if only because etiquette seemed to demand such a thing for a prince. Enrique bowed. 

“There is a path through this,” he said reassuringly. I am sure of it.”  
  
He made a polite exit and although Fina was left alone, for the first time since arriving in Valua she did not feel it. Where uncertainty had claimed her, there was a faint flicker of hope.

* * *

Victor Dyne wouldn’t break.  
  
It had been days since he was separated from his crew and placed into solitary confinement. His cell was cold steel and left barely enough room to lay down when the night approached. His only clue to nighttime was a slight chill to the air. Otherwise, the hours drew on and bled into each other like paint drops mingling into a brown slurry. For a time, he’d only known isolation. Then, he knew pain as the Valuans moved on to torture and other attempts at coercing him to speak.  
  
Today was a special occasion. While other sessions of ‘enhanced interrogation’ were carried out by steel masked prison guards and their imposingly large but equally anonymous warden, the master of ceremonies today was none other than the Lord-Admiral of the Imperial Armada. Galcian loomed above Dyne like a dragon, smirking imperiously at the pirate. Dyne’s arms and legs were chained against a nearby wall, loose enough to let him dangle but tight about the wrist such that he’d begun to bleed. He bore the scars and bruises of many days’ mistreatment and lifted his head until he could look Galcian in the eye.  
  
“Here for a little fun?” Dyne’s question held a sliver of rebellion. It was a taunt. A way of showing that he hadn’t lost all control. Galcian said nothing for a moment. He simply examined Dyne with surgical precision until, at last, he spoke.  
  
“If you must know, I’m actually quite disappointed,” Galcian said smoothly. “To hear talk of Meridia’s Blue Storm, you are a giant of a man with a demonic crew at your back. Claiming our ships at will.”  
  
“Truth’s always less than the stories,” Dyne said. He chuckled until it morphed into a sputtering cough.  
  
“Very much so in this case,” Galcian replied. “I had such hope for you. But what did I find when I sailed south? A complacent man whose kingdom was little more than one meager village and who surrendered at the first chance he was given. Hardly the rogue of legends.”  
  
“You wouldn’t understand,” Dyne countered.  
  
“I don’t care to understand,” Galcian said firmly. “Because the truth is this: your sentiment was your downfall. All I needed to do was squeeze slightly, make one little threat to your spit of a village, and you tossed yourself at my feet.”  
  
“You would have killed them.”  
  
“Yes,” Galcian confirmed. “Which brings us to a lesson, Victor Dyne. There is only one thing that you can place your trust in and that is power. You let other things hold power over you: a family, a village… and in the end, it doomed you.”  
  
Dyne shuffled until he stood somewhat taller. “What would you know of it? You’re subject to that too; an empress, a nation.”  
  
Galcian smirked once more, leaning forward to grab Dyne’s chin tightly. 

“Do I look like a _patriot_ to you?” The man’s voice was brimming with darkness. “Do I look like an empress’ lapdog to you, Victor Dyne?”  
  
There was a pause as Dyne explored the questions’ ramifications in his mind. Finally, he gave an answer.  
  
“No,” he managed. “Which raises more questions than anything else.”

“Get used to disappointment,” Galcian said. “In what little time you have.”  
  
Dyne nodded his head in acceptance. “Is that what this is? You wanted to bring the news yourself?”  
  
“To see your face,” the Valuan affirmed. “To see what a pirate lord looks like when he’s told he has one more day to live.”  
  
“Get used to disappointment,” Dyne said with a choking laugh. “I always knew this day might come.”

Galcian took a step away and brushed his hand against the side of his pants. He glanced over his shoulder.  
  
“There’s been some question of what to do with you,” he said. “It’s not every day we catch a deserter of such renown. What was the ship you served on again?”  
  
“The _Pyxsis_ ,” Dyne answered. It was clear he held no love for the vessel.  
  
“Second Fleet,” Galcian noted. “You abandoned your crew to join the Blue Rogues. “Right in the middle of a raid. I wonder what you saw in that moment...”  
  
“Something better,” Dyne said quickly. “Better than a life of service on some ratty gunboat. Roberts and his crew weren’t cogs in some machine. They were free.”  
  
Galcian chuckled darkly as he turned to look at Dyne once more. “And yet your old captain is long since dead and you are in chains,” he said. “If your freedom led you here, what use was it?”  
  
Dyne remained silent. It hardly seemed worth explaining to Galcian. The two were simply far too different for it to matter. Galcian, for his own reckoning, didn’t really care what the answer was. The point was made. Whatever Dyne had gained the day he’d exchanged his life on the _Pyxsis_ for the life of a Blue Rogue had been lost. Galcian had claimed it as easily as plucking fruit from a tree.  
  
The Valuan leaned close once more. “Tomorrow, you and your crew will be brought to the coliseum,” he said. “Thousands of people… stupid and mindless people… will cheer as your heads are cut from your bodies. Your pirate friends and all of the fools who ever dared admire the ‘Blue Storm’ will understand how weak you were in the end.”  
  
The cell door creaked open and Dyne watched a blonde man walk into the room and a bow before Galcian. He couldn’t help but think of Fina in that moment and how he’d failed to keep her safe.  
  
“Ramirez,” Galcian said curtly. “Report.”  
  
The faithful man rose to his feet. His eyes were fixed longingly on Galcian. 

“I’ve sent word to the admirals to gather as per your instruction,” he said. “And visited the prisoner.”  
  
Galcian raised an expectant eyebrow. “Well?”  
  
“As I feared, she refuses to listen to reason,” Ramirez disclosed. Dyne narrowed his eyes.  
  
“What have you done with Fina?”  
  
Ramirez rounded upon him, moving fast as any beast and hurling a punch that slammed against Dyne’s jaw. 

“That’s none of your concern, mongrel.”  
  
Galcian raised a lone finger before addressing Dyne. “She is safe,” he said. “For now.”  
  
“She’s one of.. _them_ , isn’t she?” Dyne’s question hung on the air before he asked another.

“Silence,” Ramirez growled before striking Dyne once again. Fresh blood trickled from the man’s mouth.  
  
“Enough,” Galcian said plainly. Ramirez fell into place once again. “Let him sit here with his questions. Let him bask in his failure. One final day to reflect on how utterly and completely he has lost.”

The pair left without another word. Dyne was left alone; for all he attempted to struggle against his chains, it was impossible to break free. And while he didn’t fear his own death, his heart filled with worry. For his wife. For Fina. For his son. It was as Galcian said it would be. Far worse than any other torture.

* * *

The meeting room was filled by the time Galcian arrived. His loyal Vice-Captain took up residence in a corner of the room, watching each of the Armada’s admirals with a wary eye. If there was one thing that he and Galcian agreed on, it was that none of them could be trusted. From the most capable of commanders to the most self-serving of nobles, the admiralty of the Valuan Armada posed a unique roadblock to their plans even if they had their uses. Some could be controlled through flattery and manipulation, others were predictable enough that their actions could be anticipated. Ramirez worried that the melting pot of egos was far too contentious to deal with; Galcian begged to differ. While they could not be trusted, they still had their uses.  
  
Galcian regarded them all for a moment. The craven Admiral Alfonso, stalwart and stubborn Admiral Gregorio, frivolous Admiral Vigoro, devoted Admiral Belleza, and the eccentric Admiral De Loco. Each served his purposes well enough either through misplaced loyalty to their country or devotion to their own personal gain. A lesser man would struggle to contain their clashing personalities, but not Galcian. As if to make the point apparent, he cleared his throat and all of them waited expectantly for his words.  
  
“Admirals of the Valuan Armada,” he stated flatteringly. “Let me first offer my gratitude to each of you for assembling on such short notice. I assure you that the news is of the greatest import. Let it be known that we have successfully captured a citizen of the Silver Civilization with the knowledge we require, as Empress Teodora requested.”  
  
Gregorio shifted in his seat. He was the oldest of the admirals, serving as commander of the Second Fleet ever since his brother Emperor Mateo granted him the office in the years before the Valua-Nasr War. He was a reliable soldier, Galcian found, even if his morals were overly burdensome.  
  
The old admiral’s heavy armor creaked as he leaned forward.  
  
“You’re certain of this,” he asked cautiously. “I’d been given to believe the opportunity had passed. Even accepting your Vice-Captain’s… unique heritage.”  
  
Another man, younger and dressed somewhat casual in little more than a blue vest and black undershirt, stroked his chiseled features with excitement. “So we finally have what we’re looking for,” he said in a swarthy baritone. “Which one of you pulled it off?”  
  
At his seat across the table, Alfonso gave a sneering titter and opened his hands wide. “Look no further, Admiral Vigoro,” he said theatrically. “While you were off playing war games, I crippled the Silvite’s ship and captured her. Alas, I was betrayed by my very own Vice-Captain and she was taken from me.”  
  
“A woman,” Vigoro said with clear interest. Once a mercenary with an insatiable appetite for violence and other gross comforts, he’d fallen in with the Armada after Galcian’s appointment as Lord-Admiral.  
  
Gregorio took all the information in patiently. “If it’s as you say, the Empress will be pleased,” he noted. “And if she might be persuaded to share her knowledge, all the better.”  
  
Vigoro chuckled licentiously. “What else can you tell us about her? How old? Is she good looking?”  
  
The young woman sitting beside him gave a heaping sigh. She flicked some of her burgundy hair aside and looked at her fellow admiral with abject disgust.

“Can you never cease your salivating?” Her question brimmed with annoyance. “There are more important matters at hand.”  
  
“You’d do well to listen to Admiral Belleza,” Galcian said. The woman blushed ever so slightly before finding her composure again.  
  
“Besides, you’ll find that she’s quite the opposite,” Belleza explained. “Rather demure. Her name is Fina, and she’s currently being escorted for an audience with Empress Teodora at the palace.”  
  
A cackle resembling a braying rooster reverberated through the room as Admiral De Loco laughed across the table. He was the strangest of the admirals and looked it. He’d been sickly most of his life, the son of a near-nobody noble, developing his intellect as his body grew frail. In time, his genius caught the interest of the Armada’s engineering and research division. With fresh resources, he didn’t just develop new weapons for the Empire. Among his first achievements was fashioning a hermetically sealed pilot’s suit that he wore nearly every waking moment. He sneered at Belleza from underneath the suit’s glass helmet. His wild eyes were hidden by large goggles, his face cut into a jester’s grin.  
  
“Our chief of intelligence strikes again,” De Loco said with faux-respect. His voice carried through a speaker on his chest. “Tell me Belleza, was it bribes or your wiles that earned you that information?

“If you focused on anything but your experiments, you might learn a thing or two,” she said simply.  
  
“It matters little,” De Loco said imperiously. “But so long as we have the Silvite, we should also learn more than the Moon Crystals’ whereabouts. Technology, magicks, physiology. Everything..”  
  
Galcian cleared his throat once more. The admirals fell silent.

“There will be time for these things soon enough,” he said. “For the moment, I will report to the Empress and await the order to start our search. Our new… ally shall aid us in finding all six crystals. However, there is another matter…”  
  
The Lord-Admiral’s steely gaze fell upon Admiral Alfonso. 

“You lied in your report about the Blue Rogues’ attack on the _Cygnus_ ,” he said. “I hereby strip you of command over the Mid Ocean fleet. You will be assigned indefinitely to a post in Ixa’taka. I’m sure you and Admiral De Loco will have plenty to talk about on your way to the continent.”  
  
Alfonso stood in shock, his face screwed into bitter fury. “You think… that I lied in my report?” He affected a pitiful laugh that did little to hide his anger. “Whatever gave you that false impression?”  
  
“The Blue Rogues released your crew following the raid,” Galcian said. “It took scouts some time to find them but upon their return to the capital, your men gave a full and _accurate_ report.”  
  
“This is outrageous! Wait until the Empress hears of this!”  
  
Galcian showed no change in his features. 

“Let’s be clear about something,” he said darkly. Alfonso immediately grew quiet. “I don’t give a damn who your parents were or how close you are with the Empress. I care about capability. I care about how well you do your job. That stands for any of you.”  
  
He continued to stare Alfonso down. “The world views the Armada as invincible. Our power must be seen as absolute. Showing _any_ signs of weakness is unforgivable. Ponder that during your time in Ixa’taka.”  
  
Alfonso relented as Galcian’s cold stare seemed to bore into his very soul. “Yes, my lord.”  
  
“This meeting is over. Resume your normal duties but be prepared to depart upon a moment's notice.”  
  
The admirals rose and gave a quick salute. “Yes, Lord Galcian.”  
  
Galcian gave a slight nod to Ramirez. The young man pushed off from his wallside resting place and joined his master as they left the room. The pair set off down the hall and prepared for their audience with the Empress. Alfonso followed quickly in a huff, trailed by De Loco. The latter man seemed all too eager to return to whatever work was waiting in his laboratory. 

That left Gregorio, Belleza, and Vigoro. All three lingered in the room, each regarding the others cautiously. After a pause, Gregorio fell back into his seat with a weary sigh.  
  
“What’s on your mind, old-timer?” Vigoro’s tone was just serious enough to tell the aged general that even he felt some uncertainty about what had transpired. Belleza said nothing. Instead, she walked towards a nearby fireplace and stared into the crackling flames.

“I know we have had differences in the past,” Gregorio said diplomatically. “Disagreements about tactics or conduct. But you two have served with distinction for some time so I will speak plainly. I am unsure what to think of this Moon Crystal business.”  
  
Belleza hummed in thought. “It is fantastical,” she conceded. “But everything thus far has proceeded as Lord Galcian has said. That includes the girl’s arrival.”  
  
“If it is true,” Gregorio began. “We are dealing with power unlike anything within the fleet. If used rashly, these creatures might even lash out against Valua and her citizens.”  
  
“Might makes right,” Vigoro said. He took a seat and kicked his feet up on the meeting table. “If the crystals exist, which I guess is the case, then we should have them.”  
  
“I agree,” Belleza said. She turned away from the fire to look at the two men. “It’s too great a risk to leave them be. What if the Nasreans were to find one? Once they learned what it is, they would immediately turn it against us.”  
  
Gregorio closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t find them,” he elaborated. “I’m in full favor of keeping these weapons from our enemies. But the temptation to use them would be far too great. These are ancient weapons; it’s not the same as a new ship or cannon.”  
  
“What are you suggesting?” Belleza knew the answer but asked the leading question regardless.  
  
“I love this nation as my brother loved it during his reign as emperor,” Gregorio affirmed. “But it has been a dark span of decades. The Empress is forever locked in mourning and the Lord-Admiral is… overly fascinated with these crystals.”  
  
“Tread carefully, Gregorio,” Belleza warned. The old man chuckled in spite of the admonishment.  
  
“Your devotion is splendid,” he praised. “But in this matter, you cannot let your heart be your guide.”  
  
“He’s got you there,” Vigoro said brazenly from his chair.  
  
“Whatever do you mean?” Belleza shifted her stance, hands playing with each other.  
  
“Your infatuation with the Lord-Admiral,” Gregorio said. “He is a capable man and very shrewd. I grant that. And you have achieved much for someone so young; he was correct to appoint you a command… But he’s not a man given to sentiment. You’d do well to remember that.”

“It’s not like that,” Belleza insisted. “I simply believe your worries to be misplaced.”  
  
Vigoro snickered. “Now, now. Even if the Lord-Admiral won’t have you, my bunk is always open.”  
  
Belleza took a step towards Vigoro, hand slipping towards her side. With a blur of motion, she brought a blade to Vigoro’s throat. The brash lothario chuckled lowly. 

“I do like women with a little fight in ‘em.”  
  
The knife danced near Vigoro’s throat before Belleza pulled it away.

“One of these days,” she said. “It’s going to get you killed.”  
  
“Stop this,” Gregorio commanded. He drummed his fingers on the table. “At the very least, we can agree that the Gigas pose certain risks. Even with the crystals in our possession.”  
  
Vigoro shrugged. “There’s two kinds of people in the world,” he explained. “Those with the boots and the dumbasses getting trampled. If we wanna keep wearing the boots, we need to find the crystals.

“So there ain’t much choice here,” he said plainly. “If there’s a problem, we fetch the largest cannon we have and blast the damn thing’s head off. Simple as that.”  
  
“Agreed,” Belleza added. “Our orders must be followed. In the event of an issue, we simply resolve to a quick response. Lord Galcian doesn’t appear to believe that necessary and I’m inclined to agree. The creatures obey whoever holds the crystals.”  
  
Gregorio heaved another sigh. He stood up and walked to a nearby window. The nation, his beloved nation of Valua, slept silently under dark skies. To his estimation, the land looked more fragile than ever.  
  
“Then I pray we never have cause to use them.”

* * *

Fina never could have imagined the sheer opulence of the Imperial Palace’s throne room. The massive hall was the single largest room she’d ever seen, far greater than even the Hall of the Elders back home. White marble floors, somehow touched with golden flakes, reflected an image of such pristine perfection that it was like looking into a mirror. Monstrously large windows flanked by fine velvet drapes allowed just enough moonlight to cast into the hall and mingled with candelabras and moonstone lights that brightened the room like a sunlit field. Huge columns supported the roof, bearing royal crests and other heraldry. It was all completed by a massive red carpet that cut down the room like a river leading a path towards the throne.  
  
Of course, this was not a cordial audience. Fina walked at Galcian’s side with her arms bound behind her in silver locks that coursed with yellow magicks at the slightest hint of resistance. Ramirez stood behind them both, keeping a close watch on Fina lest she make a single misstep. Not that she could run far if she wanted; their makeshift walkway was flanked by an indulgent cadre of royal guards whose glimmering steel armor held a purple shade. Each of them were armed with spears. There was no doubt in Fina’s mind that any attempt to run would be met with the most swift response. For a moment, she longed for her quiet stateroom prison. At least there she didn’t risk sudden death with a single misstep.  
  
“The Lord-Admiral Galcian Abrantes Ortega and his estimable Vice-Captain Ramirez Plata,” a guard called out by way of proclamation.  
  
Fina allowed herself the slightest hint of bemusement at her fellow Silvite’s clearly counterfeit name although it faded quickly. Another sign that Ramirez was no longer the man she knew. The young woman allowed herself to look up at the throne before her. Placed upon a raised floor, it was made of the most resplendent gold. It was, in fact, so meticulous and magnificent that Fina wondered if this world had outdone the indulgence of the Old World. An aged woman sat upon it, grey hair fashioned with pearls and wearing a large purple dress with a high collar and whose silk caught the room’s light at just the right angle. Enrique stood to the throne’s side at just enough remove that he might be ignored.

Galcian and Ramirez knelt in formal reverence. Fina followed suit lest she incur anyone’s fury. The Empress looked at Fina with a sublime mixture of amusement and royal boredom.  
  
“As you have requested, my forces have captured a Silvite,” Galcian said. He rose to his feet. “I am sure you will be pleased to know that the girl, Fina, will be able to assist in locating the Moon Crystals.”  
  
“Excellent,” Empress Teodora intoned. Her voice cracked like a rusty wheel. “You have yet to fail me.”  
  
The Empress rose and walked forward to the top of the steps that separated her perch from the rest of the hall. She examined Fina with the same disaffected eye that she might have regarded a fine vase with. The young girl nervously looked to the side.  
  
“So, this is what a Silvite woman looks like,” she said. Her tone made it clear that she considered Fina no better than an interesting animal in a menagerie. ”Such a beautiful girl. Her clothes are interesting as well... A fine specimen…”  
  
Teodora hummed, her haughty gaze affixed on Fina. “With your help, we will take a step into a better future,” the Empress intoned. “One where the Valuan Empire spans the entire world.”  
  
“Such is your will,” Fina replied meekly. Not a promise of aid but a neutral way of avoiding the woman’s displeasure.  
  
“It is,” Teodora said with gross glee. “Yet, you seem sad. Why do you not rejoice with us? With your knowledge, all who oppose us shall fall. Their islands will be reduced to ash and dust.”  
  
Enrique chanced a step towards his mother. “Mother, we should reconsider this course,” he said firmly. “There are troubles amongst our own people. An empire that does not listen to the plight of its people is destined to fall… These crystals will lead us to ruin!”  
  
Teodora didn’t even look at her son. “Enrique, we have spoken of this and you still have much to learn, she said. “You cannot walk the path of an emperor and concern yourself with petty worries. Our nation will not be secure until our enemies are dealt with.”  
  
“Mother,” Enrique replied carefully. “What use is an empire if we sacrifice our souls? Our own land is sick. Inequality grows daily, the nobility schemes as commoners die. It can’t continue…”  
  
“Don’t you understand?” Teodora’s voice wavered with a strange sadness. “I am building this empire for you. There are so many threats in the shadows, Enrique. They must all be brought to light and put to the sword. The Gigas will help cleanse the lands..”  
  
Enrique stepped forward again and into his mother’s view. “This is not what father would have wanted.”  
  
The room grew silent. It was as if he’d walked up and slapped his mother in the face. She turned on him, face wrenched into such fury that Fina feared she’d order her own son executed. “How dare you…”  
  
“Mother…”  
  
“Leave,” she ordered. There was only a moment’s pause before she repeated herself in a wild shriek. “Now! Leave!”  
  
Enrique gave a nervous bow, eyes darting to Fina before he stepped back. It seemed that even he would not test his mother’s rage. He did not, however, leave the throne room. Teodora heaved a ragged breath, once again looking to Fina.  
  
“Now, young lady,” she started coldly. “We know there are six crystals underneath each of the moons. We know they will grant control over these… ‘’Gigas.” You will tell us where to find each crystal.”  
  
Fina stood up straight. “Your son is right,” she advised. “These creatures will destroy you. If you awaken even one, your empire will be cracked into dirt and ruin.”  
  
“Do you think we are so ignorant of their power?” Teodora could hardly believe the young woman’s presumption. “That power is exactly why Valua must possess them. You will tell us when to find the crystals and you will do it now.”  
  
“I would rather die before I tell you,” Fina said firmly. Her voice held no fear and it rang through the room with a surety that Teodora could never match.  
  
“What did you say?” The Empress’ cheeks burned red with anger.  
  
“Humans must never control the Moon Crystals and the Gigas ever again,” Fina stated. “Petty dictators like yourself brought destruction to the Old World. You will not do so again!”  
  
At her back, Fina sensed Ramirez shift ever so slightly. Galcian dismissed the man’s motion with a single finger.  
  
“You dare insult me? Me?! The Empress of the great Valuan Empire! Here in _my_ palace?” Teodora cut a glance towards her guards. “Kill her!”  
  
Enrique stepped forward again. “Mother, think about what you are saying,” he soothed. “You can’t kill her!”  
  
“Of course I can,” Teodora said. “My word is absolute.”  
  
At this Galcian spoke. “I advise against it, Your Highness,” he said. “We require this woman if we are to find the crystals. After that is done and if you desire? She will die.”  
  
“I am begging you to believe me,” Fina shouted. “The Gigas’ power should not be underestimated.”  
  
Ramirez finally acted. He struck Fina hard on the back of her skull. She fell to her knees, the room spinning.  
  
“Quiet,” he growled. Perhaps it was a trick of her hearing, but she could have sworn there was a minute hint of worry in his voice.  
  
“Very well,” Teodora finally said. “You will live for now, child. However, I will ensure you see firsthand what awaits those who defy me. Tomorrow, we shall head to the coliseum. I’m given to understand you were found alongside some foul air pirates..”  
  
“They… are good people,” Fina managed to choke out. She looked up to see Teodora, whose cruel visage was still seething with anger.  
  
“Well, you can sit and watch as these ‘good people’ die. Then you will understand what happens to all who defy me.” She offered a glance to Galcian. “Was there anything else, Lord-Admiral?”

“There was,” the man intoned smoothly. “Doubtless, the reports of Admiral Alfonso’s cowardice have reached your ears. As such, I make a humble request: that my Vice-Captain be given the rank of Admiral and take command of the Mid Ocean fleet.”  
  
Teodora looked at Ramirez. The man’s face was unreadable. “You swear to uphold the demands of that rank, and to serve us and the nation of Valua?”  
  
“I do, Your Highness,” Ramirez said coolly.  
  
“Then it is done,” she said. “Admiral. And my first order is one I extend to the entire fleet including the Lord-Admiral: find me the Moon Crystals. I will not tolerate failure.”  
  
Galcian bowed. “As you command,” he said.  
  
“Now,” Teodora pronounced with a gesture to Fina. “Get this animal out of my sight.”  
  
Ears ringing and vision still blurred, Fina felt herself forced to her feet and half-carried away. The throne room wavered in and out of her awareness. Whatever courage she’d found before had been replaced by a fresh fear: unless something miraculous happened, Captain Dyne and his crew would die tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a rewarding chapter to write since it offered a chance to explore a lot of different voices and add extra time to the other side of Valua, which we don't see much of in the game since we're mostly experiencing Vyse's perspective. Having a chance to introduce Enrique and play with the admirals is nice. Enrique is perhaps the character whose voice I've struggled the most with. Finding the balance between royal strength and his own anxiety is challenging. He needs to be instantly soothing enough for Fina to trust him but also trapped enough in his own right that her offer to flee hit hard. I'm glad to give him more screen time (particularly with Ramirez) but I also admit that I found pretty much everyone else's voice easier to find. I'm expecting that to change over time. I hope he's likable here.
> 
> There's some structural things here that I know I'm not the first to explore. A lot of that hinges on the decision to move the throne room scene earlier and shift things so that more people will be present at the coliseum. That's something that I know 'Eternal Arcadia' did. I've done my best to keep other novelizations as much as possible (especially concurrent ones!) to avoid overlapping but that's such an obvious change that, like how many writers tend to use the purple moonstone in the ruins, it seemed natural to also head down that path. Valua is a fun section in the game but a lot of the plots feel isolated; having them mix makes a lot more sense. 
> 
> There's some alterations to the city itself here as well (the addition of a lake and some other flourishes) as well as expansions to character backstories. Dyne's use of Yellow Magic to make the electres crystal early on is given context and we add more details to the Valua-Nasr conflict that rounds out Enrique (and even his mother!) a bit more. Some of this is pulling the trigger on earlier set ups; for instance, Aika mentioned that the war ended when the Lord-Admiral was killed and now we know who that was. This is also when we first reveal some (but not all!) of Ramirez' backstory with Mendosa.
> 
> There's smaller things too. Vigoro is now a mercenary turned admiral and has a clearer relationship with Belleza and Gregorio. I hate Vigoro but it felt important to make him a little more well-rounded. I admit I'm not overly excited to write for him even if I think authors need to be advocates for all their characters. I also *really* don't like De Loco so I tried to have him make more sense. We also get names! Lots of names! Galcian's name, the emperor's name, the capital's name, Ramirez' clearly fake Valuan name!
> 
> Aaah! Another long notes section. I apologize if they feel indulgent; I just like talking about the process and explaining choices. Hope you enjoyed! I'm back to my normal work schedule after this, so it'll be a little bit longer before the next chapter drops.


	13. Bread And Circuses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Dyne and his crew brace for their execution, Vyse and the others embark on a desperate rescue attempt with historic ramifications.

Nothing could have prepared Vyse and Aika for the view awaiting them once the _Little Jack_ passed into Valua proper. A glimmering city lit by electric lights that illuminated it so brightly that they seemed to be holding the dark clouds at bay. Without them, you’d be forgiven for fearing that the sky would fall and swallow the land beneath it in a horrible miasma. It was terrible. It was beautiful. However, that was only one half of Valua. As the _Little Jack_ drew towards the docks, the scene changed and the wonderful golden city on the lake shore grew smaller and smaller. They weren’t heading to the Upper City; they were slinking off to a less-reputable portion of the Lower City. A place where anything could be found for the right price. Say, an experimental Valuan harpoon cannon. Drachma outlined the situation for his young companions with his typical gruffness. The Upper City was for the rich nobles; the Lower City was for everyone else. Far more people lived in the Lower City, crammed into towering stacks of shanty shacks or piled into community halls where the most that could be called “yours'' was a tiny bunk. Each inch the _Little Jack_ made towards the dock revealed a fresh indicator of Valua’s depraved and imbalanced social order: the smell of rancid garbage, a scream in the distance, the howling of a feral huskra. Pinta had said that dreams sailed in the direction of hope. The Lower City was where dreams went to die. There was no hope in this place. Only dogged grit and desperate struggling. 

The young rogues regarded it with abject horror as the _Little Jack_ came to rest in a grimy dock sequestered at the far end of the Lower City. Drachma looked at it as plainly as you’d look at a mountain. It was what it was and it sure as shit wasn’t his problem to fix. Those idiot kids were here on some stupid mission. For them, this was one of the most important moments of their almost-assuredly short lives. For him, this was just another pit stop on his inevitable collision course with Rhaknam. So it was that the old fisherman trampled down the gangplank with two would-be heroes in tow like so much freshly caught fish.  
  
“That’s it then,” he growled as he looked around the docks. “Deep’n tha heart of the empire ‘an cravin’ different kinds of trouble.”  
  
Aika wandered forward, almost bumping into a surly looking worker with a rusted metal leg. He gave her a vicious look before limping onward. The redhead seemed caught in a daze. It was hard to believe what she was seeing.  
  
“It’s so much worse up close,” she said quietly. “The smell, the dirt… Oh gods, I really hope that was mud I just stepped in…”  
  
Drachma turned to regard Vyse. The young sailor’s eyes darted about with a somberness to match his friend’s but there was an undeniable hint of recklessness underneath it. “What now, boy?”  
  
“Same as it always was,” Vyse replied firmly. “We need to head into the city, learn what we can. Someone’s bound to have heard about a bunch of captured air pirates. And wherever they are, we gotta save them.”  
  
“The city is bigger than I imagined,” Aika noted. “We’ll need a bit of luck to learn anything. And if they’re across the lake, in the Upper City…”  
  
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Vyse said confidently.  
  
Drachma grunted. 

“Do as ye might,” he said as if to dismiss the rest of the conversation. “I gotta hunt down me black market man ‘an see ‘bout that cannon. Ain’t no doubt that one’s gone… missing ‘an made way down here. I’ll find y’idiots later. Iff’n ye ain’t in a ditch somewhere.”  
  
“Seriously?” Aika seemed surprised. “I figured you’d grab your cannon and be done with us.”  
  
“Captain wouldn’t do that,” Vyse offered with surety. The old man rolled his good eye.  
  
“Suppose’n I gots a morbid curiosity about yer fool’s errand is all,” he explained. “Imagine ye’ll bite dust before me business is done.”

Vyse saluted. “Aye, Captain,” he affirmed before looking at Aika. “Let’s get a move on.”

The walk from the dock into the nearest neighborhood was uneventful save for the growing grime and slickness that came to fill the cracked brick streets. The young pirates would pass one sorry sight but it was soon replaced by another with a horrible swiftness. Makeshift tents and shanties where old men and women, thin and emaciated, sat with sad resignation. A doomsday crier barked out to anyone who would listen about a coming day of judgement where the Moons would burst with wrath upon their oppressors. No one seemed to buy that one, and the pair were all too quick to press on as the would-be priest pointed at them and hollered of the coming storm. Children dived into dumpsters, one of them popping up with a sort of slop that might have been food before a swarm of tiny compatriots began to fight over what little slivers could be shared. 

Vyse regarded it with an anger he didn’t know he was capable of. That anyone could let people live like this, that the nobles were content to live comfortably across the lake, was unimaginable. Yet, it was real and as he walked underneath flickering moonstone street lamps it was all he could do to focus on the mission he was here for. As much as he wanted to solve each and every problem before him, there was too much risk. A stray amount of attention might be enough to signal curious guards or other troubles. So he walked carefully with Aika until finding a place to stop. They settled for a splintered bench looking over the lake waters. He exhaled a frustrated breath as he sat down. Aika joined him, shifting a bit closer to him and gazing out towards the Upper City.  
  
“I want to smash it into dust,” she admitted. “I’d slink over there, steal all their gold, and toss it to everyone here. Maybe keep a little for myself..” It was a playful statement but her voice didn’t hold her usual mischief.  
  
“It’s funny,” Vyse started. “I guess I’m kinda thankful..”  
  
“Thankful?” Aika couldn’t imagine what he meant.  
  
“For the perspective,” the young rogue explained. “Back home, all we knew of Valua were armada ships and soldiers. Now? I have a clearer picture. Of Valua. Of its people. And yeah, I hate it as much as you do but that.. I dunno… Sometimes I feel like there’s this fire in me and seeing this kicks it into overdrive..”  
  
“As if that fire could get any bigger,” Aika said teasingly. “You always could see the best of anything.”  
  
“We’ve stolen from plenty of Valuan ships,” Vyse noted. “But we’re not Black Pirates, we’re Blue Rogues, and that means something. It means we don’t put up with injustice like this. If that means I gotta rob every last ship of every last coin… if that could help solve things here… well, then that’s all the more reason to keep sailing.”

“Ain’t it just the saddest load of crap you ever heard?”

The pair did a double take as a young voice crowed from off to their side. A young boy, perhaps twelve or maybe thirteen years old, leaned against a nearby railing. Matted red hair flipped and cowlicked in every direction, stray strands falling over his freckled face. His cheek bore a grimy bandage that barely covered a fresh cut. He wore a patchy tan tunic with baggy green shorts and a matching oversized scarf. The result was that he looked younger than he was; like a child who was wearing adults’ clothing in an attempt to seem mature. He looked at Vyse and Aika with hungry dog-like eyes, smirking wide. An idle hand floated up to scratch at his nose.  
  
“Something bothering you, kid?” Vyse cast an unimpressed glance at the boy. In reply, he scowled.  
  
“I ain’t no kid,” he insisted. “And I ain’t bother ‘cept for the fact I had to listen to your sappy little tune.”  
  
Aika huffed. “Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop?”  
  
The boy shrugged. “Those lessons go in one ear and out the other down in Lower City,” he explained. “I’ll drop eaves if I want. I ain’t like I’m the only one curious about your hides. Two fresh-faced tourists walkin’ about our home. Everyone’s takin’ you for a pair of marks. Which they ain’t wrong about.”  
  
“We’re not marks,” Aika scoffed. “Listen to you! Trying to act all tough!”  
  
“Callin’ it like I see it,” the boy retorted. “Right off the docks, so you’re definitely sailors. Though I dunno about that pirate talk. You look like a pair of ninnies more than Blue Rogues.”  
  
“You know a lot of pirates?” Aika shot the question back firmly. “If not, cut your yapping!”  
  
Vyse chuckled. “Don’t let him get to you, Aika.”  
  
“Easy for you to say,” Aika lamented. “He’s almost as obnoxious as you were back in the day.”  
  
“I wasn’t _that_ bad,” Vyse said as he looked at the boy. For his part, the red-headed urchin growled.  
  
“Are you trying to start a fight with me?! You better watch it! Do you even know who you’re talking to?”  
  
Aika narrowed her eyes in confusion. “You haven’t even told us your name..”  
  
The boy stood up taller. “I’m Marco! Everyone in this town knows who I am! I own this place!”  
  
Aika stood up to match the boy’s bluster. “Well congrats on being the King of Trash, bucko!”  
  
“Heh. For such a short kid, you talk a big game,” Vyse said. He was far more amused than Aika.  
  
“Whatever!” Marco scowled further at the pair. “Not like you’re here to help us. Folks like you talkin’ your own big game about pirate stuff or whatever but I bet that’s just jabber. You sickos probably came to watch the executions and that’s it.”  
  
Vyse quickly rose to his feet, stepping closer to Marco as if he couldn’t believe what the young boy was saying. “What do you mean, ‘executions’?”  
  
Marco leaned in and gave Vyse a small shove backwards. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said with mock respect. “I guess you don’t got those in the civilized world or something?”  
  
The young rogue stared seriously at Marco, and the street rat hesitated for a moment. A flicker resembling shame crossed his face. “Talk,” Vyse said commandingly.

Marco sighed. “Buncha air pirates got nabbed,” he explained. “When it’s a big enough catch, the nobles drag ‘em into the coliseum fer a public execution. Sometimes hanging, sometimes something bloodier. Folks eat that crud up! Everyone goes to watch!”  
  
Aika cast a glance to Vyse that betrayed her deep concern. Marco noticed but said nothing, opting to keep his eyes locked on the young man before him. It was only a moment before Vyse asked another question.  
  
“When?”  
  
“Tomorrow,” Marco said with some annoyance. “Gimme some room and calm the heck down. It ain’t like it matters or you got reason to care, right? Folks get axe’d all the time in the coliseum. Literally!”  
  
Aika placed a hand on Vyse’s shoulder. “We need to find the captain,” she said seriously. “Figure out what to do.”  
  
Marco laughed. “If you’re lookin’ for the best seats in the house, I can hook you up with some of the best. So long as you’re alright with a little splatter.”  
  
Vyse rounded on the boy. Whatever amusement he had at Marco’s street-wise act had faded.  
  
“Do I really look like someone who’d put up with that? Someone who’ll cheer like one of those stuffy nobles as heads fly?”  
  
“No…” Marco managed. “You look like someone who’s rushin’ to get the axe himself.”  
  
Vyse smirked. “Not planning on it,” he said. “Now, why don’t you find someone else to pester?”  
  
Marco backed away, raising a hand in affected supplication. “Gladly,” he said snottily. “I got everything I wanted here anyway. Little bit of amusement and such. I’d say it was nice to meetcha but while I’m a lotta things, I ain’t no liar.”  
  
He turned and started running away. “Later, idiots!”  
  
Aika groaned before leaning against the nearby railing. In spite of everything, she managed a smirk. “You know, I take it back,” she said slyly. “You were _much_ worse than that.”  
  
Vyse watched as Marco slinked off into the dark streets but chuckled all the same. “Guess I might’ve ended up like that if I lived here,” he said sympathetically. “It can’t be easy…”  
  
“You heard him,” Aika said. “Your dad and the crew will be executed tomorrow! In some gross spectacle where everyone’s gonna cheer! I swear, if Fina’s with them too…”  
  
“We’ll figure it out,” Vyse said reassuringly. “I’m not letting a single Valuan touch her or hurt any of them.”  
  
Vyse turned and started to walk down the street. Aika quickly jogged to his side. Somehow, the streets seemed darker than before but she could swear that whenever Vyse spoke, the lamps flickered with fresh light. Maybe it was a quirk of the moonstones or maybe she was imagining it. Either way, she felt some worry evaporate from her heart.

“We got most of what we need,” Aika noted. “Weapons and some crystals. If the captain decides to tag along, that’d help too. We’d just need to find out how to get into the coliseum and bust everyone out before it’s too late.”  
  
Vyse lifted an idle hand to his pouch. “Yeah,” he said. “We’ll just take stock an-”  
  
He paused. His pouch was mostly empty save for his moonstones. The remaining crystal that Fina gave them back on Pirate Isle was gone. It took only a moment to figure out where it had gone. It must have happened when an enterprising street-rat gave him a little shove.  
  
“I’ll be damned…” Vyse’s voice brimmed with amusement.  
  
“What is it?” Aika slipped into some worry once more.  
  
“That snot-nosed brat stole our _sacres_ crystal…”  
  
“What?!” Aika grimaced with a gremlin-like rage. Vyse could’ve sworn she’d grown fangs. “We need that! I swear I’m gonna hunt down that little rat ba-”  
  
“It’s fine,” Vyse said with a fresh chuckle. “Let him have it. He beat us fair and square. No point in chasing him down when there’s work to do. We’ll find somewhere to rest and plan out what’s next. Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day…”

Finding an inn to rest at wasn’t much trouble. Unlike a port where there might be a few hostels or flophouses, there was only one establishment where a traveler could find some rest: a small bar called the Last Call. When Vyse and Aika entered, it mostly seemed a place where you could drink murky whiskey and oddly piss-colored wine but there were a few rooms available to rent out. Sailors and merchants likely came and went enough that it could keep the lights on and the owner was so ambivalent about guests that they didn’t bat an eye when the two rogues told them that a large bearded man with a metal arm would be joining them and covering the fee for the night. 

“If he doesn't,” the owner said. “We’ll just take a few of yer fingers for payment instead.”  
  
The room was more of an expanded closet than proper lodging, an open attic-like space with a few beds shoved in although there was a small door to a balcony that jutted off the building’s side. The blankets were musty and moth-eaten but Aika flopped right on to one of them. Whatever risk of fleas and bedbugs existed felt secondary to her own exhaustion. They’d spent over a week in the _Little Jack_ ’s tight quarters—Vyse’s lodgings little more than a hammock dangling outside the engine room—and even with the clock slowly ticking down toward the execution, it felt good to take even a few moments to find some quiet. Especially since whatever happened tomorrow was sure to be loud and dangerous. For all Aika knew, this would be the last bed she ever got to lay down in.  
  
“It’s been so long since I just… laid down on a bed and closed my eyes..” Aika sighed comfortably. “Or at least that’s what it feels like.”  
  
Vyse sat in a nearby chair. He smiled affectionately at his friend. She always had a knack for finding joy in the smallest things. “It’s not like we’ve had much time to rest since leaving home,” he noted. “Even that stop on Sailor’s Island was too short. It’s been one thing after another. Rhaknam, the captain, Baltor..”

“I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to,” Aika said. “I just keep thinking about your dad and the others.”

“Nothing’s been the same since we raided the _Cygnus_ ,” Vyse agreed, “But you know… even with all this trouble, I don’t regret it. Sticking it to the admiral, meeting Fina…”  
  
Aika nodded. “She’s something special,” the redhead admitted. “Strange and secretive but kind too. I can’t imagine what she must be dealing with right now..”  
  
Vyse rubbed his chin in thought. “What I don’t understand is what the Valuans want with her,” he mused. “The Armada’s never pushed that far into Meridia and then she shows up.. Suddenly, they’re deploying every spare ship they have to find her.”  
  
“Mystery for another time,” Aika said softly. “S’like your dad would say: focus on the goal in front of you.”  
  
Vyse nodded. “Not to the point that we get no rest,” he said. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we need to be alert and ready. Who knows when we’ll get to sleep in real beds again?”  
  
Aika chuckled. “Really slumming it in that hammock, are we?”  
  
“Eh, I don’t mind it,” Vyse said. “It’s just that the _Little Jack_ ’s engine is so old, it creaks as loud as an arcwhale.”  
  
“Hmph,” a low voice grunted. “Well, ‘scuse me fer havin’ an old ship.”  
  
Drachma trampled into the room with a plodding heave, looking at the young sailors with his usual mixture of annoyance and frustration. “If ye don’t like it, find another damn ship,” he scowled. “It ain’t meant for keepin’ a buncha passengers cozy. She’s meant fer me only.”  
  
Vyse turned to look at the old fisherman. “It’s not like that,” he said. “You know we’re grateful…”  
  
The old man took a moment to examine the pair, cold eye running up and down. They looked damn young and in over their head. Downtrodden but determined. _Idiots_ , he thought.  
  
“Judging by yer looks, I’m guessin’ ye’ve sussed out the news ‘bout them executions,” he said coldly. “S’bound to be yer old man ‘an the crew. Figure yer best chance might be to save ‘em all ‘fore they reach the coliseum… Iff’n ye could manage t’get deeper’n the city.”  
  
Vyse paused for a moment as he thought about the situation. “We’d need to figure out where they’re being kept,” he said plainly. “Which would mean asking, which could draw attention. Without good information, we gotta stick with what we know..”  
  
“Yer not thinkin’ ‘bout _that_ , are ye?” Drachma seemed less impressed than he did skeptical.  
  
“I am,” Vyse said. “Which means we can’t do anything until tomorrow.”  
  
Aika sat upright. “What are you talking about?” Her voice was filled with urgency. “Shouldn’t we be out there right now trying to save them? You’re not seriously gonna wait, are you? If we don’t do something, they’ll be killed!”  
  
“If we go rushing around the city, the guards will notice something’s up,” Vyse said calmly. “If they catch us, we’re dead. We know exactly where Dad and the others will be tomorrow: the coliseum. All we need to do is sneak in and get them out of there.”  
  
“S’got potential to be right bloody,” Drachma noted sternly. “Ye ready fer that, boy?”  
  
Vyse nodded. “I think if we had more time, I’d play it like you suggested,” he explained. “But that’s a luxury we really don’t have. We know where we need to be and when. That’ll do. And if it gets messy? Well, nothing’s getting in the way of their freedom. I’ll fight the entire Valuan army if I need to.”  
  
Aika smirked. “Tomorrow at the coliseum then,” she noted with some excitement. “We get in, break some chains… maybe some skulls..”  
  
“Might be ugly,” Drachma said. “But at least it’s something.”  
  
“Now that there’s something resembling a plan, I feel a lot better,” Aika said. She stood up and walked over to the corner of the room where their weapons rested. “Besides, if doing the right thing were always easy then everyone would be doing it. We’ll just need to rise to the occasion, yeah?”  
  
Vyse looked at Drachma seriously, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his legs. “Last chance to walk away,” he said. “This is our business. You don’t nee-”  
  
A clattering smacked upon the roof as something—or someone—knocked over what sounded like loose piping. Metal rolled in a slinking slip, rumbling against the tin roof as a light voice cursed beneath its breath. Vyse immediately rushed to the balcony with Drachma and Aika in tow. A shadow darted out of view. Drachma huffed with anger.  
  
“Someone’s spyin’ on us,” he growled. “We can’t let ‘em git away!”  
  
Aika was already placing her hands down in a makeshift step. “Vyse! Boost!”  
  
The rogue nodded, stepping into Aika’s hands and pushing off the ground. His friend gave a forceful toss upwards and hurled her friend to greater heights. It wasn’t so high to the roof; Vyse cleared the top easily and landed in time to watch the shadowy figure dart further away. The dark sky and flickering lamplight only highlighted the smallest fragments of their figure, revealing ruddy red hair as they rushed into the night. Vyse began his chase. Darting with all his speed towards the rooftop’s end, he was just about to reach the figure before they leapt right off in a leap that cleared the gap to the next building. 

Vyse paused for a moment at the edge. _Okay, if that’s how you want to play this…_  
  
Stepping back, the young pirate sprinted and made a leap of faith that carried him to the other rooftop. He tucked into a roll, dirt and grime clinging to his shirt as he rose to his feet. The shadow took a look back, uttered one last curse, and kept running. The rooftop was packed with clutter: makeshift benches made of wooden planks and held up with cinder blocks, a pitiful array of long-abandoned beds beneath trash and boxes. The shadow raced onwards, leaping over the bench. Vyse kept close on his heels. As they passed a nearby chimney, the eavesdropper pulled at some pathetic piping until a piece of it broke and tossed soot into the air. Vyse covered his un-goggled eye and ran through the choking smog in time to leap across another gap in pursuit of his prey.

The pair landed on a low shack roof, the shadow tucking into an artful roll and popping into a fresh run before leaping down into the streets. Vyse landed much harder, heaving a breath as he leapt further dowards. In the distance, the shadow was frantically trying to pull the cover off a manhole. Vyse rushed and tackled them to the ground. He tugged the eavesdropper upwards by the collar.  
  
“Put me down, you glass-eyed freak!” Fresh lights flickered from nearby lamps to reveal Marco. Vyse kept his hold.  
  
“Marco!” Vyse dropped the boy to the ground where he landed firmly on his rear. “Why am I not surprised?”  
  
Marco grumbled as he stood back up. “You didn’t need to drop me on my ass, bucko!”  
  
Footfalls snapped on the street as Aika rounded into the view with Drachma sauntering behind her. “Did you catch them?” She ran up and stopped as she noticed Marco. The redhead crossed her arms in annoyance. “Well, well… if it isn’t the King of Trash..”  
  
“At least I don’t have hair like a scarecrow,” he countered before smirking. “I heard everything you were chatting about. So if I were to, say, go tell the guards..”  
  
Drachma pounded into view, raising his metal arm threateningly at the boy. “Wrong words,” he said sternly. “We needs ta’be killin’ ye now, lad.”  
  
Marco scoffed. “Go ahead, lugnut,” he mocked. There was the hint of something darker in his words. “It’s not like anyone would care! ‘Sides, you think I _like_ this place? At least if I’m dead, I don’t need to find dinner in the garbage or snag pocket change off another corpse. So do it!”  
  
Drachma reached with his arm and placed his hand about Marco’s neck. “No regrets. That’s good..”  
  
Aika rushed to Marco’s side. “Captain! He’s a kid!”  
  
Vyse looked at Drachma with renewed purpose. “Drop him,” he ordered. To his surprise, the old man listened and stepped away from the boy. Marco spat at the fisherman’s feet.  
  
“Marco..” Vyse regarded the young man as if everything was normal again. He nodded towards the manhole. “Where were you going? Where’s that hole lead?”  
  
“There’s catacombs under the city,” the boy explained furtively. “The sewers lead down to ‘em. Old World stuff. I live down there..”  
  
An idea popped into Vyse’s mind. “Do any of those catacombs lead towards the coliseum?”  
  
Marco paused for a moment. He looked at Vyse as if he’d grown a second head. “You were serious? Talkin’ about breakin’ folks outta there?”  
  
Aika exhaled. “Of course we were,” she said plainly. “If we don’t, our friends’ll die.”  
  
“If any of the catacombs lead there, we can use them to sneak in,” Vyse said. He made it sound as easy as fetching water from a well.

Marco doubled over, crowing with laughter to the point that tears filled his eyes. “Are you people stupid or something?” The question hid the slightest sliver of actual concern. “The guards will find you and smash your skulls! You lookin’ to get killed?!”  
  
Vyse looked at the boy for a moment before uttering a single word: “Pathetic.”  
  
The boy paused, face shifting into anger. “What did you say?!”  
  
“Blue Rogues don’t give up,” Vyse affirmed. “I’m not gonna start now even if you’d give up in a heartbeat. Marco, I swear that if you ever went sailing you’d start bawling at the smallest storm. “It’s too much! I need my mom!”

Marco all but tackled Vyse, who held firm and didn’t budge. “Don’t call me pathetic,” the boy spat. “I don’t need your pity!”  
  
Vyse leaned down somewhat to look the boy in the eyes. “You’re right,” he said. “This is a bad situation and the odds are slim. But if you run into a storm, there's always a way out. No matter how bleak things seem. I need to do this…. I _will_ do this..”  
  
“You’re an idiot then,” Marco said. He stepped back and crossed his arms.  
  
Vyse turned to Aika and Drachma. “We’re going through the catacombs tomorrow,” he declared. “We should rest up until then. Tomorrow’s gonna be a hard one.”  
  
The trio started to walk away. “Wait!” Marco reached out after them. “Aren’t you gonna kill me?”  
  
“Of course not,” Vyse said as he turned back to the boy. “But if you’re really sick of all this, then keep an eye out tomorrow. You’re tired of living but I want you to see something interesting before you die..”

* * *

The next morning came all too soon. While part of the night was spent preparing weapons and supplies, working through a mountain of anxiety, it passed quickly once heads hit pillows. The journey to Valua had not been an easy one between Rhaknam and Baltor, and a chance to find something resembling actual rest was too important to pass up. Every second of their rescue attempt would demand the utmost focus. A single stray step or one moment of hesitation might lead to disaster. Vyse wasn’t going to let that happen. There was only one way this day would end, he swore: with his friends safe and on their way back home. With his father out of whatever cell he was rotting in. With Fina free and staring at a blue sky.  
  
They woke early, hoping to avoid too much suspicion in the streets. A light fog permeated the streets, which were oddly silent. It didn’t take long to reach the path towards the catacombs. It also didn’t take long to run into their first complication: Marco was waiting for them. He stood by the manhole, picking at his nose and smirking as the trio approached.  
  
“Morning,” Vyse said calmly. “Come to wish us luck after all?”  
  
Marco groaned. “As if,” he said. “Thing is… yer gonna be poking through my home and none of you skullheads know your way around down there like I do..”  
  
Aika rolled her eyes. “And you’ve come to help us out of the goodness of your heart?”  
  
“Not quite,” the boy said. “It’s just that… if you don’t reach the coliseum, how am I gonna watch you three get smacked the hell up?”  
  
Vyse nodded as if the explanation was entirely reasonable. “Gonna be our tour guide then? If that’s the case, you need to keep close. Even if that’s your stomping grounds, I bet there’s some foul stuff down there.”  
  
Marco made a coughing noise that might’ve been a laugh. “You dunno the half of it,” he said.  
  
Drachma stomped toward the manhole and lifted the cover off with one jerk of his metal arm. “We’re wastin’ time,” he said. “Yer either comin’ or no. I dun care which.” With that, he began climbing down into the sewers.  
  
The young boy reached into his pocket and flashed a rusty looking knife at Vyse. “Ain’t like I’m harmless,” he said. “But yer word goes, I guess. So long as you don’t wander off either. Moron..”  
  
He pushed Vyse aside and made his way to the ladder, clamoring downwards into the sewers. Vyse and Aika followed afterwards. Each rung brought them closer to the bottom, the air growing thick with the smell of filth. As they reached the bottom, Vyse leapt off the ladder and looked around. A sloshy river of fetid water, almost green in color, flowed downwards from the city. The party stood at its side, gathered on a narrow walkway of grimey stone. Electric lanterns sputtered. One cracked with a spark that awoke a cluster of nearby tsirats that shrieked and fluttered over deeper into the sewers.  
  
Aika took it all in with disgust. “You _live_ down here?”  
  
“Better than livin’ on some street corner and havin’ a guard put a boot to my head,” he said. The boy was already walking down the pathway. “Now I ain’t kidding: keep close. Goggle-Head was right about one thing: I’m not the only one livin’ down here.”  
  
Their footsteps echoed against the stones as they followed Marco. Drachma snuffed as he examined his surroundings. “Crud like this backin’ up means rats ‘an more,” he noted. “Gunk’d up ‘nuff and ye even get wanderin’ slime.”  
  
“Very astute, grandpa,” Marco chuckled as he continued. “See, it used to be that the sewers were a decent place to lurk; thieves, assassins, even some families. Then it started to change..”  
  
Vyse narrowed his eyes. “What happened?”  
  
“They started tossin’ corpses down here,” Marco explained. “Down from the coliseum and elsewhere. Folks got sick. Well, _more_ sick than they were… and the bodies drew all sorts of nasty crap.  
  
As if to prove the point, a slinking mound of bluish sludge glomped down from a nearby pipe and slapped against the floor like so much spilt jam. It came within a foot or so of Aika’s head and began lurching towards her.  
  
“Moons, this is gross!” She whipped out her boomerang and gave a massive swing that launched the slime across the sewage and into the adjacent wall with a splatter. “That was _literally_ slime!”

Vyse drew his own weapons and walked cautiously. “Why don’t they do anything about these monsters?”  
  
“They tried,” Marco explained. “At least the prince did; nobles are bastards but at least that fella seems to give two craps about us. He led an expedition down here once the catacombs were found. Said he was gonna clear out monsters and thieves alike so book-people could study the Old World.”  
  
Drachma growled somewhat. “Dun matter if a runt is well-meaning,” he said. “Seein’ as there’s still plenty down here.”  
  
“At least he did something,” Marco noted. “They was talking all about history and Fulmarians and crime and all this snooty stuff and then bam! Suddenly they’re callin’ it a lost cause!”  
  
Vyse wondered at that. “The prince ran away?” It made sense to him; even if he was brave enough to explore the catacombs, he was still a noble.  
  
“Ain’t like they gave him a lotta soldiers to work with,” Marco said. “It all felt symbolical and whatever. Like the empress was letting her kiddo play make believe. ”  
  
“What’s a Fulmarian?” Aika’s question echoed through the hall.  
  
“Old World folks,” Drachma interjected. “Met some scholar at Polly’s what jabbered ‘bout them.”  
  
“Point is, the prince’s plan for bringin’ justice and brainy knowledge fell right on its ass,” Marco said. He picked his nose idly and flicked the result into the sewage. “Then the bodies really started piling up down here. Most people avoid it now but I know how to avoid trouble…”  
  
He started to rush ahead of them, pace increasing as they drew closer to a ledge. Marco peered over the side. The gross waters fell over the edge like a dank waterfall, slipping downwards through a large hole within the floor. With a grin, the young boy leapt downwards past the waters and down into the hole where he landed with a wet thud. Vyse jogged to the edge and cast his gaze downwards.  
  
“Guys?! Trouble!” Marco’s voice echoed upwards. “Big trouble!”  
  
Aika stopped at Vyse’s side, reaching into her pocket to grab her red moonstone in her hand. Vyse nodded back at her and the pair leapt down through the hole and deeper underground. It was a markedly different place than the sewers above. The brick path was replaced with ancient stone slabs that were partly submerged in murky green waters. Stone pillars held up side walls, bearing writing on their side that neither of them understood. Not that there was much light to see them by; instead of bright yellow moonstone lights, a sort of blue-violet haze hung about the room. The air’s phosphorescence cast a glow fluttered about with galvanized energy. And there, before the two of them, was Marco. His knife was drawn in shaky defense as strange figures shambled towards him.  
  
“Marco! Get back!” Vyse ran forward and immediately placed himself in front of the boy. The figures shambled forward and he gasped as they came into view.  
  
They were corpses. Three shambling bodies, rotting and covered in tattered clothing. Two of them bore milky and fetid eyes but the last didn’t have any at all. One twitched as a muscle was forced into a broken and unnatural position, an arm bending back with an impossible snap. Like a puppet being yanked about. It made sense in a sick sort of way once he realized what was happening. Each of the decaying bodies’ skulls were partially caved in. Large, roach-like bugs rested upon their heads. Pincers latched onto the sides and strange proboscises snaked into the broken skulls. Whatever these people had been in life, they were little more than broken mockeries in death. Monstrous marionettes carrying their hosts towards their next meal.  
  
Vyse didn’t hesitate at all. Aika was with him and judging from the hard slam behind him, Drachma was as well. The young pirate rushed at the nearest corpse and stabbed his cutlass into their chest. The body slammed into the nearest wall, pinned by Vyse’s attack. Seemingly unaffected, it began to walk up the blade and towards Vyse. “Aika! Don’t let them get close!”  
  
The redhead swallowed her terror and nodded, her eyes locked on another one of the corpses as it limped dully towards her. She ran her red moonstone down her boomerang’s side. It began to glow red with heat and magicks, casting red light around the tunnel.  
  
“Here we go!”  
  
Aika hurled the boomerang towards her target where it slid low and cut into their leg, hot edge slicing deep. The bones cracked and the boomerang, aided by its imbued magicks, sailed back into Aika’s hand. The corpse fell to the ground and began crawling towards them.  
  
“Vyse? They’re still moving!”  
  
Against the wall, Vyse’s would-be victim was still attempting to shamble towards him. “Yeah, I know!”  
  
“Hrrrrraaagh!” Water splashed as Drachma rushed by them both and slammed his fist downwards at the corpse crawling towards Aika. It rammed right into the horrid deathroach on its skull, which gave a squeal as it was crushed. The old fisherman stood up, walking towards the farthest corpse and backhanded its skull. There was another squeal as it fell to the ground.  
  
“The bug, boy! Gut it!”  
  
Vyse lifted his second cutlass. Pulling the first out from the corpse, he stepped back and slashed at the final roach with both. Instantly, the body fell to the ground. There was a clattering sound as something fell from its hand: a moonstone sword that the victim must have wielded in life. A full ten seconds of silence hung upon the air.  
  
“Seriously, how do you LIVE down here?!” Aika looked at Marco slack-jawed as she gestured towards what remained of the corpses.  
  
“Very carefully!” Marco shouted back at her.  
  
Vyse flicked some grime off his blades and sheathed them. He raised a hand to calm everyone down before walking over to Marco.  
  
“You okay? I told you to keep close.” His voice held all the concern of a big brother.  
  
“They’ve never come up this far before,” Marco insisted. “I’m sorry… It’s usually fine, I swear…”  
  
Drachma shook his metal arm, tossing some unsavory gunk to the ground.  
  
“Ain’t no time fer chidin’,” he said seriously. “Ye ken jabber ‘bout this later ‘else we lose time or more shite creeps up on us..”  
  
Aika walked towards the corpses without a word and brought her moonstone to bear. With a few crackles, she cast three pryi spells that lit the fallen bugs ablaze. “Don’t wanna risk any of these crawling away..”  
  
Vyse smiled at Marco in spite of it all. “C’mon,” he said kindly. “The old man’s right; we need to keep moving. And we need your help if we’re gonna reach our friends..”  
  
“Storm’s passed,” Marco muttered.  
  
“That’s right,” Vyse said. It ignited a fresh fire in the boy. He gestured for the group to follow further down into the catacombs. Vyse spared a moment to grab the fallen sword and sling it over his back as Marco guided them deeper and deeper into the stony halls.  
  
“I sleep in one of the crypts on the side,” Marco explained as they walked by a handful of side pathways. “The worse stuff is far down. That’s where they toss most of the bodies.. Right under the coliseum..”  
  
The group pressed onwards and onwards into the catacombs. The hallways filled with glowing gloom but there were no more signs of monsters for the time being. Instead, the air started to take on a strange quality as wind slowly blew through the hall. Vyse could feel the hair on his neck stand up.  
  
“What’s going on? I can almost feel that in my teeth.”  
  
“We’re deep down,” Drachma noted. “Pressin’ below towards the lower sky. Air in Valua takes on a charge as this. Felt this a’time I were chasing Rhaknam down the north side o’ the continent.”  
  
Vyse looked at Drachma. “You sure?”  
  
A sudden flash filled the hall, followed by a rumble of thunder. The hallway ahead of them was full of cracks and holes with nothing else below them but open sky. Lightning crackled and darted in the grey beneath them as the hall was reduced to little more than thin walkways. Thunder roiled with each new flash of light. The sky sparked with hunger and fury. What gloom remained in the hall was sucked out into the great maw below.  
  
“Aye,” Drachma scoffed before pressing forward. His tone shifted ominously as he gave a simple command: “Now, don’t fall..”  
  
“Most of the shamblers walk right off the edge,” Marco explained as he pressed onwards. Behind him, Aika and Vyse walked over the makeshift walkways carefully.  
  
“Not looking down, not looking down, not looking down,” Aika repeated as they made their way to the far side. Ahead of them, the hallway resolved into a normal shape again.  
  
“We’re close,” Marco said nervously. “There's this big chamber at the end of the hall. It’s right below the coliseum but…”  
  
Aika looked at the boy suspiciously. “But what?”  
  
“ _It_ lives up there.”  
  
“You know, when you say “it” like that, the result is really ominous,” Aika noted. Regardless, she drew her boomerang and moonstones. The catacombs had already proven dangerous enough.  
  
“What do you mean, Marco?” Vyse pressed forward without hesitation even as his question lingered on the air.  
  
“It’s like that slime frome before,” the boy explained. “There was so many bodies and stuff tha-”  
  
A sick roar jolted through the halls, building higher and higher until it broke into a gargling shriek, wet and blood-thirsty. Vyse’s feet stumbled against something in the dark. It clanked and clattered as he kicked it, tumbling into a larger room lit with cracks of yellow moonlight. He’d accidentally kicked a skull. Worse yet, the hallway was full of scattered bones and bloody bits. A slimy beast dragged itself out of the shadows. It might have once been a bird or other creature before tireless feasts and corpse pecking transformed it into a jiggling abomination of slime and fat. Beady eyes and sloshing tongue indicated a face although the rest of its body was little more than a jelly-like mass. Half-dissolved skulls sloshed within its gut. It turned a dull gaze at the party, saliva dripping from its open jaw. It gave the appearance of a sick smile, eager to feast.  
  
“By the Moons…” Drachma uttered before shoving Marco back. “Boy, best be ready to run if need ‘rises.”  
  
Vyse took a step forward, drawing his swords. Aika joined him.  
  
“Never was going to be easy…” The redhead was already imbuing her boomerang with cold purple magicks.  
  
Marco stared at the group. “You can’t be serious! You’re gonna fight that thing?!”  
  
“If that’s what it takes to save everyone,” Vyse noted. “Then we really don’t have a choice.”  
  
Vyse and Aika exchanged a knowing glance. She grinned at him. “You know, we’re gonna need to think of a cool name for the purple magic stuff.”  
  
“Heh, you said cool,” Vyse teased. Drachma grunted in disapproval.  
  
“Don’t let that thing slobber on ya,” he ordered. “Let’s gut it ‘an be done..”  
  
“Aika, I’m gonna need some speed..” Vyse didn’t even wait for the reply before he started running at the beast. There was no doubt in his mind that she was already thinking of it. So he dashed in as fast as he’d ever ran in his life and watched as a slick sheet of ice began to form ahead of him. An indigo light shimmered from the moonstone in Aika’s hand. The ice shimmered and formed a track before him. Vyse jumped upon it and began to slide at the creature. A slimy tendril—it was barely an arm—swiped at the young rogue. Vyse ducked under it and brought both his cutlasses to drag along the monster’s gelatinous side. It gurgled in anger, turning to face him and vomiting a steaming, acidic saliva that missed and splashed into a nearby wall.  
  
“Everything down here is the _grossest thing_ I’ve ever seen,” Aika groaned. She fished for her red moonstone and crackled a _pyri_ spell before the creature that rose to singe its belly. The gluttonous mass was hardly fazed as it shambled towards Aika. “Uh, guys….”

A fist slammed into the monster’s face. Drachma’s cold steel hand rammed against the monster although the old man was nowhere to be seen. A wire snaked back from the detached fist and snaked back towards the fisherman, snapping taut as it retracted back towards him. He’d literally fired his hand like a cannonball from a distance. The monster flopped about in a confusion that was only matched by this companions’ bafflement.  
  
“Holy hells,” Aika muttered.  
  
“I don’t even want to know how that’s possible,” Vyse gritted as he slipped in and slashed at the monster again. His red moonstone blades seared deeply, burning away fats and slosh. For all the damage he was doing, the monster’s body seemed to reform back into its writhing shape.  
  
Aika narrowed her eyes, looking from her cold boomerang and back to the sodden creature. Focusing intensely, she began to imbue it with even more magic than before. What had started as an unrefined _crystali_ spell in the Shrine Island ruins had blossomed into a more intuitive notion as she carried her purple moonstone from one trial to the next. She felt the boomerang grow colder still, touched with the more advanced power of a _crystales_ spell. Eyes darting back to the monster, she hurled it at the beast.  
  
“Vyse! Captain!” Her voice cried out to call their attention to her attack as the boomerang jutted into the monster’s gelatinous side and began to spread icy energy throughout its body. Slowly but surely the monster started to freeze.  
  
Vyse glanced at Drachma, who nodded back. The pair rushed at the monster from either side: Vyse leaping up to smash his blades against the creature’s head and the old man hurling a punch from the other side. The blows struck true and shattered their target into icy bits. Almost immediately after, the rest of the body began to crack and flake into little more than shards.  
  
“Serves ‘em right,” Drachma spat. The trio hardly took time to rest. Aika retrieved her boomerang as Vyse turned towards a ladder at the end of the room that led upwards.  
  
“That’s the coliseum above us?” He asked the question casually to Marco. The boy peered out from the hallway. It took him a moment to even register Vyse’s words. To his eyes, all he saw were heroes. Monster-slaying, villain fighting honest-to-Moons swashbucklers.  
  
“Y.. yeah,” he managed. “Are you just gonna.. head up there? Don’t you realize what you just did?”  
  
Vyse smirked.  
  
“That was the opening act,” he said, nodding upwards towards the arena. “This is the main event.”

* * *

Fina thought she had seen the worst that Valua had to offer. She was wrong.  
  
From her room at the Imperial Palace, Fina imagined the squalor and suffering within the Lower Ctiy. The contrast was so stark as to speak for itself; even as a prisoner she had unique comforts. The dark city across the bay had pained her. Seeing it close was another matter entirely and the coliseum was more terrible than anything she could have imagined. From her seat in the royal box, Fina had a clear view of the arena in its entirety. Stand after stand was packed tightly with dirty faces and desperate men whose pain was supplanted with something else: eagerness. Broken people, worn down by noble indifference and inequity, brimmed with anticipation and delight at the upcoming bloodshed. They were like carrion birds circling about a freshly fallen animal. It was clear, even to someone like Fina, that the coliseum offered an intoxicating delusion: power. From their seats and stands, the impoverished Lower City citizens were able to feel some measure of excitement and control. After all, they weren’t the ones with their heads beneath the executioner’s axe. As bad as life was for them, at least they had tickets to the show.  
  
She looked at it all and felt terribly sick. At the side, the Empress gave a knowing hum.  
  
“It wasn’t always like this, you know.” Her voice held no pity. It was clear that she found the entire affair amusing. “The city teemed with filth and crime, the people lapping at any sign of weakness..”  
  
Teodora smirked wickedly. “Then I showed them how strong I was,” she explained. “I taught them to fear me. Lest they believe I feared them..”  
  
Fina pleaded: “You could help them.”  
  
The Empress shook her head.  
  
“You are a sweet, foolish girl,” she crooned. “Like my son..” There was the slightest touch of nostalgia to her voice that disappeared almost immediately. The older woman cast her gaze towards the festivities.  
  
Down below, Dyne and his crew were being led into the area. The captain looked ragged and bruised, his men equally distressed and mistreated. All of them were bound in shackles. Fina felt her heart sink.  
  
“These pirates _wronged_ me,” the Empress noted. “Sit and watch. Learn what it means to oppose my will.”

A figure at Fina’s side shifted uncomfortably. Prince Enrique leaned forward in his seat and looked down into the area with utter revulsion. He darted about, searching for something, although Fina could not guess what that was. For all the man’s talk of standing up to his mother, they’d found themselves here. No plea had reached the empress’ heart, no protestation had awakened whatever inner goodness her son desperately wished still remained. 

Fina looked at Enrique, watching as his expression shifted further and further into dismay, and felt the last spark of hope within her heart fizzle into nothingness. They had lost, and now Dyne and the others would suffer for it.  
  
Sensing the young woman’s gaze, Enrique turned to look at her. “I am sorry,” he managed to say. “I wished for another path but could not find it.”  
  
Fina stared at him angrily. “I’m sure those men down there will appreciate how sorry you feel.”  
  
The crowd roared down below as the prisoners were led about. An executioner clad in heavy armor and bearing a massive axe stood upon a high platform. “Citizens! It is an auspicious day! Behold the rogues who dared to stand against the might of Valua!”  
  
Boos filled the air and an assortment of objects — rotting foods and filth, bottles and cans—rained down at the pirates as the crowd spat countless invectives at Dyne and his crew. Enrique wasn’t watching; instead, he looked at Fina as though the Silvite had just slapped him across the face. Eyes wide, he felt something burn within him that he could not put words to. A mixture of fury and righteousness that set his blood alight. Fina was right. Something had to be done. Wordlessly, he stood up and walked out of the royal box. He snaked his way past guards and downwards towards the common stands. As he passed through an archway into the stadium, the prince stood against a balcony and began to mutter an invocation. A faint hint of light glowed about his hand… which was seized by a tight grip that seemed to nullify the magic. He spun his head about to find Ramirez standing beside him.  
  
“Your Highness,” the silver-blonde man muttered with faux-concern. “Is the sight not to your liking?” He fixed cold and knowing eyes upon the prince.  
  
“Unhand me,” Enrique ordered. Ramirez held his grip firmly as the light on the prince’s hand dimmed.  
  
“Your hand is shaking,” Ramirez noted softly. “Not that I blame you..”  
  
“What?” Enrique looked at the newly-minted admiral with confusion.  
  
“It’s disgusting,” Ramirez said honestly. He turned to regard the ravenous mases. “All these people packed into an arena, jeering and eagerly waiting for heads to roll. Makes me feel sick..”  
  
“I see it for what it is,” Enrique uttered. “None of this can last...”  
  
Ramirez affected a shrug. He released his grip on the prince’s hand and joined him at the railing.  
  
“Whether we like it or not,” he began. “This is justice in Valua.”  
  
“This is not justice,” Enrique insisted.  
  
“But it _will_ come to pass,” Ramirez said sternly. His voice dripped with unspoken threats. “Lord Galcian wills it.”  
  
“You mean that my mother wills it,” Enrique countered with some sadness.  
  
“As you say,” Ramirez intoned suggestively.  
  
The Silvite kept near Enrique’s side like an azbeth hawk watching their prey. The prince found himself caught between two truths: if he didn’t do something, those men in the arena would die [ **—** ](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E2%80%94) but he also had no doubt that if he did act, Ramirez would do anything and everything to stop him. He was a loyal beast who would not endure anyone to stymie his master’s will. Enrique fixed his eyes firmly on the other man.  
  
“You know this is wrong,” he said. “Those men don’t need to die like this, our citizens shouldn’t be cheering for something like this.. Fina shouldn’t be forced to watch her friends die.”  
  
Ramirez’ expression changed to cold fury with such speed that Enrique expected the man to strike him.  
  
“You don’t get to speak to me.. about her,” Ramirez growled.  
  
The two men glared at each other, a tension so thick that it took everything in their wills to avoid drawing blades in that very moment. Enrique could not allow another mockery of justice; he would not sit idle while his country careened down the wrong path. Never again. But neither could Ramirez, for all his understanding of the other man and distaste for the bloody spectacle, allow anyone—even the prince himself—to subvert Lord Galcian’s will.  
  
In the arena below, the executioner beckoned Dyne to be brought up to the platform. Two armored guards shoved him into position, some of the rogue’s crew crying out in protest and insisting they die in place of their captain. Dyne’s legs were kicked out from under him and his head forced down to the block. The seasoned pirate showed no fear. In the stands, Enrique and Ramirez held firm in their standoff.  
  
“Victor Dyne! You are sentenced to death for the crimes of piracy and treason! Your punishment shall be swift and just!”  
  
A cry rang out through the crowd, a fluttering of confused gasps that grew into shouts of panic and excitement in equal measure. There was no falling axe or cheers; there was only an uproar of sudden pandemonium touched with the most elusive feeling in all of Valua: hope.  
  
Enrique and Ramirez turned to look down at the arena; both men found themselves thrust into shock.  
  
Someone… a brave and foolish someone… was rushing towards the execution stage.

* * *

This is the moment for Fina. The young woman’s eyes are shut tight, the sting of tears burning at her face. She has never felt so small and helpless. There is the temptation to rise up and call upon the numerous magicks at her disposal but a quick glance to the nearby guards makes it clear that this would certainly result in her death as well. She wonders if that would be a good thing. Would her death stop the Valuans from finding the Moon Crystals? If so, and if it might save even a single life down in the arena, she is willing to risk it. She takes a breath and then another but before she can stand, a cry of shock forces her to open her eyes and she sees the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen in her life: Vyse and Aika close behind him. In that moment, she realizes that she’ll never need to fear anything ever again.  
  
This is the moment for Empress Teodora. A cold excitement pumps through her heart as the totality of her power is impressed upon the masses. She lost so much on the day her husband died, but she had endured and in that enduring, she had grown strong. Nations feared her, the masses were her plaything. The executioner raises his axe, looking to the Empress for approval and she nods. But the axe doesn’t fall. Instead, some ratty peasants have dared to intrude upon her dominion. For the first time in ages, she feels some of her power slip away from her grasp.  
  
This is the moment for Prince Enrique. At the sight of the strange young man and his companion, the fire in his heart grows even bolder. He knows one thing for certain, or at least believes it with such sudden fervor that it must be true: the men in the arena would survive. He turns and begins to run towards the exit. There is only one way for the pirates to escape and it just so happens that he knows those underground pathways better than most. He doesn’t even wait to see how the battle goes. Instead, he rushes down a stairwell and through the arena gates out into the street. He draws his cloak around him and makes swiftly for the catacombs. There is work to be done.  
  
This is the moment for Ramirez. His eyes are locked on the prince, hand sliding towards his blade when the other man turns and runs. It takes a little less than a second for him to do likewise, but he doesn’t chase after the prince; he turns and runs towards the royal box. The pirates will not settle for saving their own. They will try to take _her_ as well, and if that happens it will mean the end of his master’s hard work. He rushes upwards, tossing aside guards and rushing into the box. He grabs his fellow Silvite and pulls her out of her seat, downward through the coliseum, and into the night. It is tempting to stay and fight, but his desires are secondary to his master’s will.  
  
This is the moment for Victor Dyne. He has lived as good a life as a pirate could ask for and knew this day might come. The rugged man looks to his crew in apology. He could not save them and he is so very sorry. He takes a breath, closes his eyes, and thinks about his wife and son. Knowing that they are safe stalls the shaking throughout his body. He exhales and prepares to die, but death does not come. His men are yelling. The Valuans are yelling. The crowd is yelling. He opens his eyes and sees his son, his ever-reckless son, running at him with cutlasses ready. The pirate grins wide and starts to rise up from his knees, turning to rush at the nearest Valuan. Mischief and mayhem are afoot and he is all too eager to show these bastards what it means to tangle with the Blue Storm of Meridia.

This is the moment for the world. Valua has choked the skies for decades. Nasr stands on edge, awaiting renewed hostilities. Every day is quiet and that is the most terrifying thing of all. The days are spent waiting for war. In Meridia, fishers sail nervously in search of fish and fear that straying even an inch too close to a Valuan patrol could spell your doom. In a distant land, strange metal ships hang above scattered villages and every night people disappear. Valua is a giant, and this is the moment where the giant starts to fall..

* * *

Vyse’s shoulder slammed into the nearest guard, sending them tumbling to the arena floor with a metallic clanking. The strike elicited a fresh roar from the crowd, who were all too eager to see the arena explode with violence. He pressed onward and barreled toward another Valuan. The guard raised a steel truncheon upwards and swung it furiously at the young rogue. There was no effort to avoid the strike; instead, Vyse lashed out with one of his cutlasses. He swung with such raw righteousness that the red moonstone blade slashed through the club’s shaft and carried through to strike at the Valuan’s helmet. The soldier toppled to the side as Vyse continued to rush towards his father.  
  
Behind him, Aika was already fast at work rescuing the crew. The redhead darted and weaved through soldiers, _pyri_ spells crackling and her boomerang sailing from one target to the next. She ran by the _Albatross_ ’ chained crew and slashed their bindings away. Vice-Captain Briggs, Landis the Navigator, Luke, Boris, and others. With each strike, their numbers grew.  
  
“Sorry we’re late boys,” Aika offered with a boisterous laugh. “Vyse wouldn’t stop to ask anyone for directions!”  
  
“Down ‘ere!” A grizzled voice called out as Drachma beckoned the crew to head towards an open grate down to the catacombs. “Lest more war-dogs ‘an steel-heads join the fray!”  
  
“You heard them,” Briggs called out, taking what command he could. A stray Valaun rushed at him but the seasoned pirate dipped and dodged until he seized their sword-arm in his own grasp and wrested the blade from them. He stabbed his captor without ceremony, waving the bloodied steel in the arm. “This way!!”  
  
The crew began to rush towards their escape save for Luke, who turned and began to run in Vyse’s direction. As Aika and Drachma protected the fleeing rogues, the stubborn raider sprinted to catch up to his friend. His arrival came not a moment too soon. Four guards stood between Vyse and the executioner’s platform; he dashed to face them, feinting a motion towards one pair before tearing into the other. Vyse was as fe arsome as he’d ever been but he was only one man. The other Valuans snapped back into action and began to rush the young man. Luke crashed into the pair, sending them to the ground where he immediately seized one of them in a grapple and jerked at their arm in a painful dislocation.  
  
“Think we’re gonna let you have all the fun?” Luke’s voice managed a mirth that would have seemed impossible mere moments ago. “He’s your dad but he's also _our_ captain!”  
  
Vyse smirked, deflecting a fresh sword stab away from his side and snapping up a leg to kick the offending Valuan in the chest. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he offered. He darted back towards Luke and leaned back just enough for the fallen assassin’s blade—which had rested on his back ever since its recovery in the catacombs—to dangle right within Luke’s reach. Without needing any direction, the raider took hold of the blade and swung its ragged edge at one of the Valuans before him. That left one rising from the ground and the other nearest Vyse.  
  
“Keep moving,” Luke said, excitement dripping from voice. “Just like before. I got this one!”  
  
Vyse knew that Luke’s word was more than good but as if to prove the point, his fellow raider lurched forward after his first strike and immediately finished off the toppled Valuan with a swift stab of his blade. The remaining Valuan shook with fear but began to move towards the escaped pirate. Vyse gave Luke a nod, something he’d done plenty of times before, but called one more thing before he turned to run towards his father.  
  
“Mabel’s waiting for you!” 

Luke grinned wide, all semblance of pain and mistreatment fading from his body, as he barreled down at his prey. Not a damn thing in all of Valua was gonna stop him from seeing the woman he loved.

The crowd gazed onward and their cheers shifted from mere calls for blood to something far more hopeful. The excitement of an escape attempt was giving way to a realization: this was not an “attempt” anymore. Each fallen soldier, each step towards the execution platform, was an open challenge towards the long-held truth that nothing could stand against the empire. The soldiers on the ground were losing and unless something was done, their defeat would be an overwhelming embarrassment.  
  
That something came to a head as Vyse reached his father. The executioner, stunned in disbelief until this moment, had finally brought his axe up high. A head was going to roll today, he’d decided. There was no way that he would allow these dirty pirates to undermine the application of justice. Valuan blood had been spilt and needed to be matched. And so he swung his axe downward. There was simply one little problem: Victor Dyne was no longer on his knees.  
  
As the executioner’s axe cut down through the air, Victor Dyne stood up but at the last possible moment, the grizzled captain shifted to his side and let the heavy blade cut into handcuffs binding his wrists. They clattered to the ground with a shattered smattering of metal, leaving the Blue Storm of Meridia free and face to face with a towering instrument of Imperial will. The executioner’s golden armor glimmered in the arena light, his helmet fitted with yellow moonstone spikes and sunken eyeholes that showed just the barest touch of the Valuan’s eyes underneath.  
  
“You want this,” Dyne started, shaking off drips of blood from his wrist. “You’re gonna need to really work for it.”  
  
Another soldier on the opposite end of the platform drew closer, sword raised. Victor Dyne laughed and the crowd cheered in response. The dynamics had shifted; this was no longer about watching Valuan justice. It was about watching arrogant oppressors get their due rewards. The executioner charged forward while the soldier at Dyne’s back did the same. He exhaled and spun to twist the lesser Valuan into the executioner’s path. A mighty moonstone-inlaid axe fell down and cut into flesh and armor. Dyne had spun the other soldier about and into the path of the executioner’s strike.  
  
“Aww, now look what I made you do,” Dyne teased. The executioner roared with anger.  
  
“Arrogant pirate scum! You’ll pay for your insolence!” He swung his axe again.  
  
A glinting of motion flashed through the arena as Vyse leapt upon the platform in time to bring his two cutlasses up in a cross-shaped block that smashed into the axe’s strike. The Valuan’s blow was so strong that it brought Vyse to his knees.  
  
“Vyse!” Dyne could hardly believe what he was seeing. His boy, his little boy, had become a pirate in his own right.  
  
Vyse grimaced as he pushed against the axe. “Dad…. A little help….”  
  
Almost immediately, the captain was fishing through the fallen corpses nearby, grabbing a small pistol from one of the disposed Valuans. He fired one shot and then another, each colliding with the armored executioner until he staggered back, bringing his axe back away from the two pirates.  
  
“On your knees once more,” the Valuan growled before slicing the air before him with a magically imbued sweep. The raw energies of the yellow moonstone in his blade cracked an energized blast of power that boomed throughout the coliseum

For a moment, all Vyse and his father saw was blinding white. Their vision recovered just in time to watch as the executioner started to rush towards them in a desperate tackle.  
  
“Step aside, boy!”  
  
A growling voice, filled with a surprising amount of desperation rang out from behind the two pirates. Vyse and his father immediately rolled to the side as Drachma rushed at full force from the other end of the platform. It was like watching two warbeasts on a collision course. The air grew still, everything grew quiet and then…. BAM!  
  
A thunderous clashing of men and metal burst throughout the arena followed by a tinny clang. Drachma’s metal arm had arced right by the barreling Valuan and smashed right into their imposing helmet. The blow crushed the metal inwards and cracked against the executioner’s skull. The Valuan stumbled for a few moments before toppling over, his head coming to fall right upon the headsman's block. The crowd went absolutely ballistic. Some called for blood but it was clear the battle was won. Vyse and his father leapt off the stage, Drachma tromping close behind.  
  
“Couldn’ta dealt with one rough fella without me, boy?” Drachma growled in annoyance as he ambled back towards the rest of the crew along with Vyse and his father.  
  
“We woulda figure out something,” Dyne said with a bit of effort. “But the help’s appreciated, friend..”  
  
By the catacombs entrance, Aika had arrayed all the magic at her disposal to ward off a veritable platoon of guards. They lay about in unconscious heaps, some clearly fallen victim to _pyri_ spells, and a few—pinned to the ground by purple magicks—were unfortunate enough to have run into the redhead’s new _crystali_ invocations. She greeted Dyne with a hug before beckoning him down below.  
  
“We gotta get moving,” she said. “More and more will come. Once we’re in the catacombs, we’ll figure out how to get the heck outta here!”

Around them all, the crowd cheered with delight. As Aika guided the others down into the catacombs, Vyse walked out into the arena and bowed to the crowd with an astonishing panache. He took a moment, looked at them all and made a promise that he didn’t know he’d be able to keep.  
  
“Free skies!” His voice called out his simple demand with such power that all of the cheer grew silent for a moment. He grinned and called out again. “Free skies!”  
  
It ignited something in the broken citizens. One by one, their cheers grew. Some of them called back to him and Vyse, caught up in the moment but somehow as comfortable as he'd ever been, grinned wide. The coliseum swiftly filled with one cry, repeated over and over: “free skies.”  
  
Vyse turned, offered one more bow, and climbed down into the opening toward the catacombs. When the grate was laid flat, Aika encased it in the deepest layer of ice that she could conjure. They’d done it; the crew was rescued. But that didn’t mean their hard work was over yet. 

* * *

Marco had swiftly led the fleeing crew down into the catacombs and into a side passage that ended in what seemed to be a dead end. A few surreptitious shoves into choice bricks opened up a hidden passage that led further into the underground tunnels. The long hallway ended in a strange open chamber with high pillars and a mouldering fresco of a brilliantly shining moon flanked by erupting moonstones. Perhaps the side room had been a church or some type of place to worship the moons, but as Vyse joined the rest of the crew in the well-hidden chamber he couldn’t help but feel that the image on the wall was not one meant to be revered, but instead feared. A powerful moon, an angry moon, whose wrath fell down upon the world. A fitting image for a harsh land. Was it left here by the Fulmarians so many years ago? Perhaps, but there was little time to ponder over it.  
  
As Vyse and Aika sauntered into the room, a muted cheer went up that left the pair feeling more self-conscious than ever. The crew looks at them like heroes but f it had been their heads on the block, Vyse had no doubt in his mind that his father would have moved heaven and hell to save him as well. 

“If you were any later, I'd be a whole head shorter right now,” Dyne teased. “I knew you were tough, son, but this? We might need to find a doctor to see if you’re crazy because this is… a lot. You understand that, right?”  
  
Vyse smiled. “Of course I do,” he said seriously. “But the other option was doing nothing and I’m sure as hell not ready to take over as head of the Dyne family any time soon.”  
  
Briggs chuckled to the side. “We can’t wait around too long,” the aging pirate noted. “Even tucked away like this, they know we’re underground and they’ll be coming.”  
  
Dyne looked around. “How did you even get to Valua?”

Vyse jerked a thumb towards Drachma. “That’s Drachma Gealbhan of the Little Jack,” he explained. “Took us here with some begrudgement.”  
  
Drachma huffed somewhat. “Had business this way,” he insisted. “‘An the next matter’ll be gettin’ the hells outta here now. We’ll need to cut back to the _Jack_ and shoot off before they close the Grand Fortress gates again. S’about time now that the entrance is open but they’ll rush to change that soon.”  
  
Aika nodded. “Captain’s right,” she insisted. “The hard part will be getting to the ship without being noticed but there’s gotta be a way towards the docks through these tunnels and…”

She paused with worry. Vyse had noticed something amiss too, his gaze shooting around the room as a fresh sense of fear rocked his heart. “Wait… where’s Fina?”  
  
Whatever good cheer had permeated throughout the pirates’ ranks seemed to be sucked away instantly. Vyse looked around from face to face but there was no sign of the kind-faced woman anywhere. Dyne sighed.  
  
“She was held separately from us,” he explained. “There’s special circumstances at play here, son. She’s more than we realized, and important enough that Valua’ll do anything to keep her in their custody.”  
  
Aika wandered over to Vyse, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder. “What are you thinking, Vyse?”  
  
“We need to go save her. Now and before it’s too late,” he declared. “This will be our only chance and with the city in disarray, it could be the best opportunity we’ll find.”  
  
Dyne nodded. “It’s dangerous but now’s the chance to strike,” he agreed. “The only difficulty will be making sure we can get her back to the ship in time.”  
  
“I might be able to assist with that.”  
  
A clipped voice rang through the room as a side passage opened near to the moon fresco and a hooded figure in a velvet cloak entered the room with such confidence and command that the crew didn’t know what to make of it. Some reached for their weapons, others stood in firm silence. Eventually, TImmus and Landis began to move towards the well-spoken man slowly. The hooded man raised his hand and, with a sweeping gesture, conjured a bright wall of warding energy that placed a barrier between himself and the suspicious pirate crew. The figure smirked beneath his cloak.  
  
“You must be the friends that Fina spoke of,” he said with some amusement. “Brave and cunning, but also rather base and reckless, I’d say.”

Vyse walked closer towards the barrier. “You know Fina?”  
  
“We made something of a friendship in her time here,” the cloaked man explained. “But that’s a matter for a different time. If you wish to save her, you need to make for the Upper City rail system as quickly as possible.”  
  
Aika folded her arms with some skepticism. “Why’s that?”  
  
“If she is being taken anywhere, it will be the safest place possible,” the man countered. “You’ve proven that the normal parts of the Upper City are not untouchable but there’s one place that is…”

Dyne coughed in pain before catching his breath. “The Grand Fortress,” he noted. “They’ll ship her off to the fort and that’ll be the end of it.”

“Exactly,” the voice said. “Which means it’s now or never. Your crew needs to reach a ship and escape before the gate closes, but you’d best hurry to the rail system and try to catch the guards before they can send her away. The tracks run out of the Upper City station and then around Darkmoon Bay.”  
  
Drachma huffed. “Which means we’d need t’catch ye as yer movin’ about,” he mused. “Iffn the train reached the fort, anyone aboard would be lost to us.”  
  
Vyse nodded. “Can’t let that happen,” he said. The young man looked at their strange benefactor seriously. “I appreciate this but there’s one thing I need to ask..”  
  
The cloaked figure hesitated. “If I can help, I shall but… my hands are very much tied.”  
  
Aika scoffed. “How are you supposed to trust some Valuan stranger right now? This could be a trap.”  
  
“Seems to me you need all the friends you can get,” the man countered. “Hardly a time to get picky.”  
  
Vyse rubbed his chin in thought. “I don’t know who you are or even care to know,” he started. “Do you have any authority to stop them from closing the Grand Fortress gate?”  
  
“Not impossible,” their strange benefactor said. “But my word will only buy some time.”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “If it means getting our ship out of here safely, that’s fine.”  
  
“And what about you?” The cloaked figure seemed taken aback by how casually Vyse talked about doing the impossible. Rescuing Fina was hardly a certainty and yet this young pirate made it sound no less complicated than falling asleep. “What’s next isn’t exactly a stroll in the park.”  
  
“Me and Aika will head towards the trains,” he declared before looking at the room. He glanced from his father to the rest of the crew, giving commands that he didn’t technically have the authority to give. Everyone listened regardless.  
  
“The rest of you will follow Captain Drachma to the _Little Jack_ and make ready to leave. You’ll need to find all of us on that train before we reach the fortress. We’ll find a way to signal you.”  
  
Drachma nodded. “Fair ‘nuff,’ he said. “But iff’n ye screw it all up, I’ll hauling yer folks out here lest that fortress gate close and spell doom for us all.”  
  
Dyne looked at his son seriously. “Sure you want to do this?”  
  
Vyse grinned. “I _will_ do it,” he said before looking around the room to find Marco.  
  
The young boy had found his way to Luke. The raider bore a fresh cut across his face from the battle in the arena that was sure to leave a scar and it wasn’t clear what Marco thought he could do to help before the boy pulled out the _sacres_ crystal he stole from Vyse, which had been fashioned by Fina so many days ago. He offered it quietly to the raider, who thanked him and cracked the crystal such that a phosphorescent blast of green magicks emanated out and began to mend the cut on his face.  
  
“You coulda gotten meals for a week selling that, kid,” Luke noted. “Don’t need to waste it on a scallywag like me.”  
  
“You were bleedin’ all over the place,” Marco said plainly as if dripping blood in the catacombs was as bad as dragging dirt into a well made house. “So shuddap and be grateful, okay?”  
  
Vyse smiled, walking to Marco. “Gonna need your help to find the quickest path to the Upper City,” he said.  
  
“Right, right,” Marco said with a snuff of his nose. “S’gotta be down this way...”  
  
The young boy stood up and was already guiding Vyse and Aika towards a separate exit. Vyse paused, giving the cloaked figure one last look. “Don’t suppose I can ask you one last favor?”  
  
A grin poked out from underneath the cloak. “That depends,” he said. “I’m taking a huge risk even now by talking to you.”  
  
“I’m not gonna ask that you reveal your face or whatever,” Vyse said honestly. “Just help get my father and the others to the docks. If you can do that, me and Aika can handle the rest..”  
  
The stranger seemed to consider it as Vyse, Aika, and Marco gathered their supplies and made ready to travel towards the Upper City streets. He spoke up soon after, voice careful and considered  
  
“I’m sure you will, friend.. But let’s make no mistake: there’s a version of this where you never escape the Upper City..”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “We already gave folks one show to remember,” he told his co-conspirator. “Might as well make the encore something worth remembering as well..”  
  
Beneath his cloak, the man nodded. “You have my word that I will guide your friends to safety,” he insisted. “This time tomorrow? Your stay in Valua will be little more than a memory.”

* * *

The journey through the catacombs was a quiet one and surprisingly uneventful given the surplus of shambling corpses, grow slimes, gluttonous beasts, and other troubles that had become almost commonplace ever since the group had descended down below. The old stone floors of Fulmarian vaults gave way to the more familiar Valuan brickwork paths and sewage rivers of before as Marco guided Vyse and Aika towards the Upper City. There was a sense that the underground was becoming, if not clean, at least a little more well managed than before. As if it was at least occasionally cleaned out and tended to by whatever thankless workers drew the short straw.

Eventually, they reached a ladder leading upwards.  
  
“This is it,” Marco noted. “A one way climb into the thick of the Upper City. Middle of Riqueza, near some of the merchant quarters. Train’s gonna be a little north from there. Guards too maybe but…”  
  
Marco paused. His face began to contort in a mixture of worry and something else. Through it all, the young boy attempted to mask his emotional battle with a sneering that did little more than draw more attention to the struggle.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Vyse intuitively sensed the issue at hand. Aika, too, looked at Marco with worry.  
  
“Vyse… Don’t go.” Marco’s voice shook with unfallen tears.  
  
“You know we don’t have a choice,” Aika said. “Our friend is counting on us.”  
  
“If we could stay and fix it all,” Vyse started. “We would but if we don’t move fast, we might never see Fina again..”  
  
Marco shook his head. “No! It’s not like that,” he insisted. “My parents tried to run away from the city too and they died! There’s guards everywhere and no way out! You can’t escape from Valua! You can’t escape through the Grand Fortress! You can’t! And if you go up that ladder, you’ll die! It’s impossible!”  
  
The boy had slipped into full-blown tears. Vyse reached out and placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder, kneeling until his eyes were looking directly at the young thief.  
  
“I’m sorry for what happened,” Vyse said sincerely. “But I can’t stay. I don’t have a choice. Because every time I hear the word “impossible,” I want to prove whoever said it that they’re wrong…”  
  
Marco snuffed his nose a little. “Vyse, I’m serious…”  
  
“He is too,” Aika said in turn. “And I agree. Even if nothing about this seems possible, even if saving our friend is a shot in the dark we don’t have a choice. We need to try.. Or else we’ll spend the rest of our lives with the guilt of doing nothing at all..”  
  
Vyse stood up, looking towards the ladder and following it upward so that he could see the Upper City light’s peeking in from the manhole above. “Don’t worry about us,” he said. “I believe that we'll make it out... I _will_ find a way... that's what's keeping me going.”  
  
Aika sighed, placing a hand on the ladder’s rungs. “Every day’s a challenge, kiddo.”  
  
Vyse nodded. “I have to know what I can accomplish... I never give up, and so far, nothing has ever stopped me,” he said with a grin at Marco. “Impossible is just a word to let people feel good about themselves when they quit. So I’m gonna climb that ladder…”  
  
“And I’m gonna be right beside him,” Aika added.  
  
“And we’re gonna save our friend and _prove_ that it’s not impossible to escape. How’s that sound?”  
  
Marco nodded, wiping more tears away. He seemed overcome with a strange sort of shame. Do you think I could ever be a sailor? If I could ever... sail the skies?’  
  
“Of course you can,” Vyse said, ruffling Marco’s hair. “You’re pretty damn tough already.”  
  
“I just, I just…”  
  
Aika stepped away from the ladder and made a motion across her wrist, removing a small bracelet and holding it out to Marco. It was plain leather with a small skull-like scarving on the side. She gave Vyse a glance and her fellow rogue nodded with instant approval. Aika’s eyes locked with Marco’s as she held the simple piece of jewellery towards the boy.  
  
“Before our first day on his father’s crew,” Aika began. “I made a pair of matching charms for me and Vyse to wear while we were out in the skies. This is mine; s’just a bit of leather and some elbow grease but it means something to me. It’s a reminder of when I was finally old enough to join a crew and see the world.  
  
She placed it into Marco’s hand. “Hold on to that for me,” she said kindly.  
  
“Until you can find us both out there in the sky and give it back,” Vyse explained with a smile. “Which means you best keep a good head on your shoulders from now on. It would be a shame to make a fine lady like Aika wait too long to get her keepsake back.”  
  
The young boy nodded wordlessly. He could hardly understand what he’d done to earn such kindness and confidence from two strangers but he did not question it. Finally, he managed to nod to the ladder.  
  
“Your friend is waiting,” he said, eyes fixed on his new gift.  
  
“That she is,” Vyse offered before moving towards the ladder and starting to climb. Aika quickly join him and started her own ascent. Down below, Marco called out one last time.  
  
“I’ll find you both soon! I promise! Out there!”  
  
Both Vyse and Aika knew that Marco was telling the truth.

Under less dire circumstances, emerging into the neon-lights of Riqueza’s finer districts would be quite the accomplishment. Few people, if any, had ever survived the catacombs and made their way into the lush Upper City. But as Vyse and Aika clambered up through the manhole and into the luxurious streets, it mostly just looked like two grimey and less-than-acceptably smelling sailors plopping up into the middle of a nearly abandoned district. Vyse scurried up first and wiped off a mixture of blood and grime on his pants before Aika emerged and took a deep breath of the first fresh bit of air she’d enjoyed in hours.  
  
The city was gorgeous. It was as if the Lower City and all the violence of the coliseum had been hidden away and all that was left were boutiques, bright lights, comfortable benches to break up leisurely strolled, and an assortment of bistros and other delights. Sightseeing would have to wait until they weren’t fugitives from the law. Without too much warning, Vyse began to jog off with Aika in tow.  
  
“The north,” Vyse noted. “That’s where we’re gonna catch a train.”  
  
“Not like we’ll be able to miss it,” Aika noted. “Just gotta look for the big metal thing that’s presumable covered in a bajillion diamonds or whatever passes as norma-”  
  
The redhead tumbled to the pristine streets as she collided with another pedestrian. She looked up in time to see a rotund woman with a criminal amount of rouge slathered upon her face; a small boy in a fine blue strolling suit hid behind woman, whose dress was large and cloyingly bright enough to give a candy-shop a run for its money in the raw sweetness department. The slightly bit of the woman’s silken skirt was scuffed, and she looked at Aika with an intense fury.  
  
“Hooooww darrre you!” Her voice shrieked like an echoing bat. “This ensemble is part of Pertegaz’ latest collection and you’d marred it with your frivolous cavorting! And….” She gave a snif. “What horrible perfume are you wearing?!”  
  
Aika stood, ready to swing an angry fist at the woman before a quick glance to Vyse led to a different approach. “How dare YOU!”  
  
Aika shoved a finger at the woman, and Vyse did likewise.  
  
“Indeed! How dare you! Do you not realize who you’ve struck?”  
  
The woman sputtered. “I don’t… I…”  
  
Vyse stood up taller as Aika shifted into an overly affected pose of nobility. He looked at the Valuan. “This is Lady Violante! Twelfth cousin to Admiral Alfonso Aznar y Cabanas!”  
  
Aika brushed at her hair. “Can you not tell by my delicate blonde hair?”  
  
The Valuan looked at Aika’s red locks and nodded. ‘Oh, I see! I see! Yes, so majestically blonde! Discúlpame por favor! I will be more careful!”  
  
Aika huffed. “You better! Or else my cousin will hear of this!”  
  
Vyse walked up to Aika and made a show of offering his arm, which she took. “Come now, my lady. We must be off! To the gala! Thankfully they won’t allow riffraff like this woman to attend. Ha-rumphrumph!”  
  
The two rogues held back their laughter and hurried off down the street as quickly as they could, coming upon a bridge connecting one portion of the district to another. Vyse looked down and realized that there was no water beneath them. There were tracks instead. Rail tracks.   
  
Vyse pulled away from Aika and leaned forward on the bridge’s side, turning to look both ways until he saw a sort of station in the distance. Ahead of them, a collection of red rail cars rest at the station. Flicking his goggle, Vyse was shocked as he noticed a familiar face come into view: it was Fina, flanked on either side by two guards and followed closely by a silver-haired man.  
  
“Aika! She’s there!” As if on cue, the train gave a holler as the engines began to pick up the pace and the cars started to slide out of the station one after another after another. Down the tracks and towards the bridge.  
  
“You can’t be serious,” Aika muttered. “What do we do? We can’t run down and reach the door on time..”  
  
Vyse grinned. “That’s alright,” he said. “They’re coming straight to us.”  
  
“You can’t be serious..”  
  
“We’re gonna jump to the roof as it passes, yeah.”  
  
“Can’t there be a Plan B or something?”  
  
Vyse shook his head. Below the bridge, the train drew closer and closer. “Look, it’ll be easy,” he insisted. “We just take a breath, hop, and land on the train. S’fine!”  
  
“Or! Or we go tumbling, fall off the side, and break literally every bone in our bodies!”  
  
The train began to pick up ever more speed, racing towards the pair. Vyse took Aika by the hand and drew her a little closer to the bridge’s side. “Look, we’ll count to three and it’ll be fine.”  
  
“Okay. That doesn’t sound so bad,” Aika offered.  
  
Vyse smiled. “Great! One, two..”  
  
There was no ‘three.’ With a quick turn and a gallant leap, he jumped off the bridge with his friend in tow. They fell downwards towards the speeding train where their friend awaited rescue.

* * *

Galcian surveyed the coliseum ruins with a cruel mixture of annoyance and admiration. On the one hand, the pirates’ demise had been denied in broad view of an entire audience. Some mere boy and a gaggle of compatriots had rushed into one of the most sacred halls of Valuan justice and upended everything they stood for. Galcian hardly gave two damns for the appearance of “Valuan” strength but that anyone might undermine his will was vexing in its own right. Yet, looking at the fallen soldiers there was a certain artistry to it that he could appreciate, a context that imbued each corpse with historic meaning. Let it never be said that he was a humorless man; if anything, Galcian was the only one here capable of seeing anything amusing in the situation at all. For all of his calm examination, his focus was nearly broken by the constant shouts and crowning of Empress Teodora.  
  
The aged Empress wandered the arena floor with fire in her heart and countless curses upon her lips. How dare anyone get in the way of her will? Did everyone understand the utter humiliation she was feeling in this moment? She flitted from guard to guard, questioning them and demanding to know how it was possible that anyone could interrupt the festivities. Nearby, a team of mages worked to thaw the collection of ice blocking the latch downwards to the catacombs. Galcian wandered towards them.  
  
“After you break through,” he ordered. “Send a strike team down and operate under one assumption: they mean to flee. They will not attempt to hide below; our failed expeditions make it clear that would be foolish. Instead, go as deep as you can towards settlements or docks..”  
  
“Yessir,” one of the Valuan’s intoned. He grew silent as the Empress approached.  
  
Teodora wheeled on Galcian, jabbing a finger at the Lord Admiral. “This is unacceptable,” she said cruelly. “Do you understand me? This is UNACCEPTABLE! You will find them and bring them to me ALIVE that I might see their heads roll one by one. Do you understand?”  
  
“Childish,” Galcian replied. The entire arena grew silence.  
  
“What… did you just say to me?” Teodora looked at Galcian in utter shock. The Lord-Admiral merely shrugged.  
  
“You are being childish,” he repeated. “The criminals will be dealt with…”  
  
“How dare yo-”  
  
“Quiet,” Galcian snapped. By some miracle, the Empress stopped. “This was not entirely unplanned for. In the event of a disruption, Admiral Ramirez was to bring the girl to the rail-line that she could be kept safe. No doubt that is where our rogues are headed next: after the Silvite.”  
  
He turned his gaze to a nearby guard: “What is the status of the fortress gate?”  
  
The guard hesitated. “It’s open, sir. The Prince insisted that they open early; said there was important business.”  
  
That caught Galcian by surprise. In his experience there were no such things as coincidences. If the prince somehow had his fingers in any of this, that meant for certain that the air pirates would be moving to find the girl. The Lord-Admiral exhaled.  
  
“Move quickly to close the gate,” he ordered. “Place all ships on full alert and escort the empress back to the palace. I will make for the express rail-line and deal with our intruders personally..  
  
Galcian looked towards the Empress. “They will pay for their foolishness, Your Highness. That much I promise..”

* * *

The wind whipped fast as Vyse stood up on the train’s top and shakily found his footing. It was just like being on a rocking ship, he told himself, if that ship was blasting forward at many miles per hour and zipping along yellow moonstone tracks. He held his hands at his side and worked to find a balance until it eventually seemed to come together. Alright, that was the first step.  
  
The second step was making sure that Aika wasn’t dead. The redhead had flopped against the metal top and risen to her feet with a look of pure confusion on her face. She rocked back and forth, causing Vyse to hold her close and give her a little shake to draw her back to reality.  
  
“You with me, Spitfire?”  
  
Aika groaned. “You didn’t count to three!”  
  
Vyse chuckled. “There wasn’t time,” he insisted. “Now, c’mon, we need to move further down the train as fast as we can.”  
  
He started to walk forward with deliberate strides, Aika at his side. Wind soared about them and the Upper City grew more and more distant behind them as the train speed off. It pressed onwards and away from the city towards rocky mountains. In the distance ahead, a towering monument of metal walls heralded the Grand Fortress’ approach.  
  
“They were letting Fina on at the front of the train,” Vyse called out over the wind. “We’re gonna need to get up there, make sure she’s okay and then…” He paused.  
  
“What? Then what?” Aika was waiting for an answer.  
  
“I dunno,” Vyse said as he began to pick up the pack and actually jog down the rooftop. “I haven’t really been thinking too far ahead!”  
  
Aika raced after him. “We’ll need to find a way to help the others find us,” she noted. “Because if we’re on the train when it reac-”  
  
The entire train rocked and shook as something slammed into it from behind. Turning, Vyse saw another train—which has clearly shot down the tracks at a pace completely eclipsing their own—grinding against the back of the last car. Without ceremony, a powerful looking man with fine clothes and a cunning, goateed face leapt to their train. His eyes were hungry as a beast on the hunt, his aged face stern and cold. He held a huge claymore at his side, yellow moonstone edge gleaming. If Vyse or Aika were to try carrying such a massive and heavy weapon, they’d need to drag it behind them. This man, this stern monument to Valuan power, kept it lightly by his side as if it weighed little more than a child’s toy.  
  
“Vyse,” Aika began nervously. “Who the heck is that?!”  
  
“I don’t know but he looks really mad,” Vyse noted. “New plan: run! We need to reach Fina before he gets to us.”  
  
The duo turned and immediately rushed up the rumbling train roof, stumbling at points and rushing even though the man behind them didn’t even bother to pick up his pace. It didn’t take long until there were no more cars left. The pair stopped above a nearby hatch, nodded to each other and opened the entrance to the cabin below. They leapt in and rose to their feet with weapons drawn. It was a spacious enough car with a few benches, perhaps meant for military personnel more than anything else. For a moment all was quiet until Vyse locked eyes on what he’d been looking for: Fina.  
  
The young woman was flanked on either side by two elite Valuan soldiers with mighty pauldrons on their armor and bayoneted arquebuses in their arms. They all turned and Fina’s green eyes lit with the most wonderful sort of surprise. 

‘Vyse! Aika!”  
  
A guard took a step forward to step between the young rogue and his captive. “Who are you?!”  
  
Vyse drew his weapons. “I’m really tired of having to explain it,” he said. ‘So let’s just say I’m the guy whose friend you really shouldn’t have taken.”  
  
Aika looked at Fina. “Sorry we took so long,” she offered. “Are you okay?”

Fina, caught in disbelief, managed to nod.  
  
‘If you want her,” the guard said. “You’ll need to get through us.”  
  
Vyse gripped his blades tighter. “Was hoping you’d say that..”  
  
A shot rang out as the Valuan’s arquebus fired but the shot went wide as Aika’s boomerang slammed into the weapon. The Valuan shoved Fina backwards and out of the fray. Within a moment, Vyse was upon them both. He began to slash and twist, bayonets striking and glancing off his cutlasses in a furious display of righteous fury versus intense martial training. Each attack was matched by the Valuan guard’s clear skill. A strike would come in, they would block and try to shove Vyse off balance, and the rogue would somehow recover with desperate speed to handily deal with the two foes easily. It was a gorgeous and all too inconvenient statement. Perhaps if they had the luxury of time, Vyse would wear the soldiers down but that wasn’t the case. Not when another foe was slowly making their way to the train car.  
  
Aika watched it all and felt the simmering of an idea in his mind; something that had been awakened in her all the way back on Sailor’s Island during her time with Pinta. With a mixture of red magick and some guidance from her boomerang, she could create the perfect attack to deal with the two foes but it also risked burning up Vyse in the process. If only…  
  
Behind them all, Fina watched as her friend and now hero fought off her captives and looked beyond them at Aika. The Silvite’s mind wandered until she caught a flicker of Aika’s thoughts and saw, in her own mind’s eye, what the other woman intended. Fina locked eyes with her friend.  
  
“Aika! Do it!” Her voice called out firmly over the clash of moonstone blades.  
  
Aika seemed confused. “What?!”  
  
“Do it!”

Fina’s command was so firm and certain that Aika immediately sprung into action. She poured red magicks into her boomerang’s moonstone blade and began to spin it about like a fan blade. In the middle of the melee, Vyse felt a small hand grab him and pull him back out away from the Valuans. A flash filled the car as Fina’s eyes lit with a silver glow and she conjured a sort of magical shield around herself and Vyse while Aika discharged an astounding blast of fire from her weapon.  
  
It was the providence of moonstones, the height of her imagined techniques in those moments where the moonberry had filled her mind with arcane knowledge and insight. What name has she and Pinta jokingly given it again? The Alpha Storm? The Lambda Burst? Whatever the case, the train car burst with flame that seer the two Valuans, the rest of which shot off into the night sky in a massive gout of fire visible for miles. Fina held Vyse tight to her, focusing on her barrier. It seemed to crack and buckle only slightly until the fire disappeared entirely. Soon, the barrier faded. All that was left were the fallen Valuans and the trio.  
  
Fina pulled away from Vyse, leaning against the wall. “Vyse… Aika… I don’t… How…”  
  
Vyse stood up, offering a hand to Fina. “What do you think? We’re here to save you, silly.”  
  
The Silvite took the hand and stood up, barely understanding any of it. ”You did all this for… me?”  
  
The young rogue looked at her with the deepest admiration and spoke as if the question was the silliest thing in the world. His answer was plain. “You’re our friend,” he said.  
  
Fina thought she’d understood that word. Rami had been a friend, playing with her and looking after her during all their time back home. He had been an integral part of her to the point that she couldn’t have imagined life without him. But then he’d left and she’d been alone for so very long. When they reunited down here, they were no longer friends. This was something else entirely. Vyse and Aika weren’t the same as Rami; they were something better. They were not going to say one thing and do another. They weren’t going to be there one day and then disappear. No, when Vyse said the word “friend” he meant it in both a wonderfully plain and intensely important way.  
  
They were _friends_ . The raw simplicity of it, the sheer beauty of knowing that she had true friends, brought the Silvite woman to tears. She tossed herself into Vyse’s arms and cried.  
  
“Thank you,” she cried. “Thank you so much!”  
  
Aika wandered over. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re here now. No way that we were going to let them steal you away.”  
  
Fina nodded, peeking up to look at them. “Take me with you,” she said even if it didn’t need to be said. “Away from this place..”  
  
Vyse nodded, further into the train car. “Everything’s alright now,” he said. “Now, if we could find a brake or…”  
  
Fina felt something jolt through her mind as a familiar sensation rushed through her being. She was able to warn Vyse just in the nick of time. “Look out!”  
  
A silver sword cut down through the air to slide across Vyse’s shoulder, drawing a flash of blood as the pirate shifted into a defensive stance. Vyse brought his cutlasses up in time to parry a fresh strike as a silver-haired warrior made to stab at his neck. Their blades clashed and Vyse retaliated with a fresh cut forward in an attempt to push back whoever it was that had attacked but he found nothing but air. Blood trickled down his arm and splattered against the train car’s floor before he realized what was going on.  
  
The tall man from aboard the train’s roof stood before him, cold face arrayed in mock apology. To his side, a silver-haired man whose appearance reminded him of Fina stood with a freshly blooded rapier. 

“Apologies,” the older man said in a deep baritone. “But the reunion ends here.”

The silver-haired man made to move again but the older soldier raised a finger to hold the man at bay. He looked at Vyse. “I am Galcian, Lord of the Imperial Armada. You have caused us a great deal of trouble, boy. What is your name?”  
  
Vyse kept his cutlasses ready. Aika stepped in front of Fina and held her own weapon aloft. Yet in spite of all this, Vyse kept a confident smirk. “I'm Vyse of the Blue Rogues,” he said. “Are you two the cleaning crew? We tried not to make too much of a mess.”  
  
Galcian chuckled. “You’re the one who made a fool out of Admiral Alfonso,” he noted. “Now.. That girl is useless to you; hand her over to me.. and I will allow you to live. I may even let the rest of your crew survive for the time being. Deal?”  
  
Vyse scoffed. “No way. I have no clue what you want from her but I’d rather die than let you touch her again!”  
  
The silver-haired man at Galcian’s side grinned wickedly. “That could be arranged…”  
  
Galcian gave his hand a sweep: “Do you honestly think that after attacking the Valuan Armada you'll be able to fly the skies freely?”  
  
Vyse fixed his eyes upon Galcian. He stood tall and proud. “We don't need your permission for anything... If we see something we want, we take it.”  
  
Aika grinned. “Free skies, bucko!”  
  
“That’s disappointing,” Galcian said tiredly. “I’m afraid you leave us no choice…”

Vyse gripped his weapons tightly, Aika at his side, and prepared to fight until either he was victorious or his muscles wouldn’t even allow him to move anymore. He’d fight for days if it meant keeping these two Valuans before him from drawing even one footstep towards Fina. His eyes locked with the silver-haired man before him. The fire in his heart grew hotter in the face of his enemy and just before he was going to make his move…  
 **  
 _BAM!_ **  
  
A cannon shot slammed into the train, rocking the car and splitting it in half. Near the front, Galcian and his cohort sped onwards while the other half of the car began to slow down with a screech. He took a step back from the now open floor and moved closer to Fina and Aika. Through the blast of smoke, he could just see as the Valuans drifted further away.  
  
A wonderful burst of motion shifted besides them as the _Little Jack_ burst into view. Her familiar green hull shone in the moonlight as the fishing vessel drew closer to the train car. A powerful looking adornment rested upon the bow: a mighty harpoon on mixed metals and moonstone inlays. On the deck, Captain Dyne and the others beckoned. The ship rose up to meet them.  
  
“Jump, son!” His father called, the ship’s deck only somewhat to the train car’s side. Aika rushed forward and made the leap first. Vyse turned to Fina, smiled, scooping the woman in his arms before he also hopped across to the ship’s deck. The Little Jack peeled off through the mountains and towards the Grand Fortress gate.  
  
Vyse placed Fina carefully down upon the before looking at his father. “You made it to the ship!”  
  
“You found Fina!” His father’s voice burst with pride. "I can't believe it!"  
  
"How the hell'd you find us?" Vyse's looked at his father in disbelief.  
  
"You literally blew up part of the train already," Dyne said. "It was hard to miss!"  
  
Drachma’s voice boomed down from the helm. “Ain’t no time fer celebration’ yet,'' he howled. “All who are able: man a post and take up a cannon. We’re pressin’ on through the gate!”  
  
The deck burst into action as Dyne’s crew took up their familiar positions in unfamiliar surroundings. Cannons were arrayed along each side of the deck as some sailors moved down to take up positions below deck.  
  
Vyse looked at Fina. “Head up to the bridge with the captain,” he said. “It’ll be safer there.”  
  
“No.”  
  
Vyse paused. “No?”  
  
“I want to help.”  
  
It brought a grin to his face. In the preparations, Aika had come to his side. “She can come with me down into the engine room,” she said. “We’ll need all the power we can get. Fina, how are your enchantments? Purple magicks?”  
  
Fina smiled shyly before finding some measure of pluck. “I can manage but...”  
  
“Good,” Aika said, already on the move. “We’re gonna need to keep the engine from overheating as we push...”

Fina’s eyes glanced at the harpoon at the front of the deck, sensing the moonstones within the spears' weave. “Is that… a weapon?”  
  
Vyse looked at Fina. “Yeah, why?”  
  
She continued to look at it. “That material…” She looked at Vyse. “Let me stay up here. I have.. an idea..”  
  
“Lass!” Drachma called out to Aika once again. "I need'ja!"

Aika began to rush upwards towards the helm and then down towards the engine room. Vyse looked up at the bridge. “Captain! Keep us flying straight shot!”  
  
Drachma called back. “Shut yer gab ‘an get ready,” the old man said.  
  
The mountains had begun to shift into cold steel walls and walkways as the inside of the pass grew dotted with gun emplacements and the outer fringes of the Grand Fortress. In the distance, the large gateway into the fortress was slowly starting to close. Vyse looked to his father, who nodded.  
  
The young man took it as a cue. He called out to the rest of the rogues with a powerful hollar.  
  
“If any gun even looks at us funny,” Vyse ordered his crewmates. “I want you to blast it into bits!”  
  
"You heard my son," Dyne repeated. "Make it loud!"  
  
A roar rang throughout the ship as the _Little Jack_ began to run down the pathways towards the open gate. Cannons belched as the fishing vessel cut by toll stations and miniature defensive encampments. Fire cracked and metal splintered as the tiny vessel pressed deep into the fortress’ heart. One shot and then another and then another. Arms once meant to kill a dread arcwhale were now turned against the empire itself. It was like watching a fly destroy a home. The _Little Jack_ pressed on, small as a gnat, and the fortress burned around it.  
  
“Hold, hold!” Dyne voice cut out above the cannonfire. “Ship ahead!”

A Valuan patrol vessel had taken up a valiant position between the gate and the _Little Jack_ , firing offer token shots from its cannons in the hopes of somehow swatting its target out of the air. Loose shot and flying fire sailed by the _Little Jack_ , splintering the odd piece of hull here or there but no nearly  
  
Drachma bellowed. “We ain’t slow for anything,” he called. His next order carried down to the engine room. “Girl! I want ye t’ready the harpoon cannon. It’ll take a minute to charge up the necessary energy…”  
  
All was fire and fury save for one thing: Fina. Vyse suddenly couldn’t find her. His heart sank when he finally did.

In the commotion, she was walking upwards towards the bow and the giant harpoon fixed upon the _Little Jack_ ’s bow. Vyse ran after her, desperately calling her name, and caught up just in time to watch the young woman place a hand upon the weapon’s moonstone-speckled metal and watch as she began to channel growing energy into the harpoon itself. It started as a subtle thing, a silvery glow that mixed with the weapon’s own yellow magick arcings that spread through the woven moonstones but it grew into a powerfully bright glittering that seemed to emboss the harpoon with a power beyond anything that Vyse had ever seen.  
  
He ran up to Fina’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her body began to glow with the same magical light as everything else. Brilliant. Blinding. Beautiful.  
  
“Fina?”

A voice called out in his mind: _trust me_. 

Vyse held firm at Fina’s side as the harpoon grew hotter and hotter with magical light. Behind him, he could hear Drachma and then his father call out the same word: “Brace!”  
  
Pulling Fina aside, he drew her close and kneeled upon the deck before looking back at the crew and shouting a command: “FIRE!”  
  
On the bridge, Drachma flipped a switch. In the engine room, Aika shoveled one last smattering of purple crystals into the ship so as to prevent overheating. On the deck, Dyne and his crew took cover. The Valuan ship ahead of the _Little Jack_ fired one last useless volley. Then, it happened

The harpoon cannon rocketed forward, spear burning bright with Fina’s enchantment until it slammed right into the Valuan vessel with a thunderclap. The harpoon seemed to burn even brighter in the moment, magick and machinery working in terrible harmony. Silver light and electric jolts arced from the spear and rippled through the patrol boat. It cracked and started to shatter into pieces. There was a sound like a tin can being crushed and then a thunderous explosion as magical energy ignited and burst.  
  
What remained of the Valuan ship fell lifelessly downwards. The harpoon itself grew dimmer as it was retracted and returned to the _Little Jack._ The path before them was clear. The _Little Jack_ rushed forward, sliding through the last part of the closing gate and off into the open skies...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this chapter out before the US presidential inauguration but the world decided it was time for some history to happen. I gotta admit that I've been left feeling anxious to the point of deep depression and it's been *very* difficult to write as a result. I apologize for how this may affect chapter releases but I hope the pace will increase soon. This is a long chapter with a lot of moving parts; I hope that the length and excitement makes up for some of the delay.
> 
> I'll try to be brief. The coliseum was a natural place to have multiple perspectives converge. Importantly, I wanted Enrique to experience a moment of development here and I wanted Fina to be the one who spurred it on. Enrique is frustratingly passive in the early game and I'm far less sympathetic to that now that I'm older. This chapter is largely about Vyse and the gang but it also needs to be about him. I was very glad that we could toss Ramirez into the mix as well. There's even a little bit with Luke and Dyne as well, although it's less developed than I think I wanted. It's an exciting set-piece!
> 
> Was also glad to do a few other things things. We bring back Aika's wish from the scene with Pinta and turn it into sort of a political cry. We get to touch upon the idea of "Fulmarians," which I hope to explore way more later. We also have some fun magic stuff in the use of Alpha Storm and Fina's own abilities. I hope it all made sense and that you enjoyed the ride. 
> 
> A more relaxed chapter is up next, allowing our heroes to reset and refocus before shipping out on a world-changing journey. Should be fun!


	14. Tomorrow’s Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes return home, Fina shares the true purpose of her mission. Meanwhile, a wandering doctor with ties to the past prepares for a revelation of his own...

They’d made it.

It might have seemed a dream if not for the fact the _Little Jack_ was teeming with Blue Rogues, its holds and scant few rooms filled to the brim with raiders, scallywags, and ne'er-do-wells. A fugitive ship, a runaway ship packed with wounded and tired rebels whose hearts nevertheless swelled at the truth: they were going home. 

The escape had been arduous; the final blast of the harpoon cannon—spear suffused with Fina’s magical augments—had rocked the ship and left everyone in a daze that held for some time until the _Little Jack_ had rushed further and further into the Mid Ocean. No ships were in pursuit, no dangers were on the horizon. And while the crew was wounded and tired, and Fina’s own display of magical prowess left her with a lasting fatigue, they were well and truly safe.  
  
Everyone looked at Vyse differently now. That was the strangest thing of all. Captain Drachma growled and cursed at the boy, demanding he keep to the helm for much of the journey but in those moments where the young sailor could wander and check on his friends, there was an undeniable change in the way they regarded him. It was a glint that lay in the farthest region of their eyes like how someone occasionally saw phantom motions in the margins of a mirror. But it was there and he had no understanding of what it was. It was not gratitude or even admiration; it was something deeper. A fundamental change in how he was perceived. Like his very being had changed without his knowing. He did his best to dismiss it and check with the others.  
  
His father had refused care, demanding that Timmus used whatever supplies—doled out much to Drachma’s loud consternations—to patch up the wounded. There wasn’t much but cuts were stitched and bones properly placed into slings. Luke had borne the worst of it in the coliseum; a fresh scar was slashed up his face that might’ve festered into something truly awful if not for Marco’s quick use of the _sacres_ crystal. That said: it definitely beat losing your head entirely.  
  
The sun had fallen, many of the _Albatross_ ’crew slipping into the first reasonably comfortable sleep they’d had in weeks. Fina had taken a quiet rest in Aika’s quarters near the engine room, the red-head keeping her company and maintaining a friendly vigil as the mage regained her strength. That left Vyse, his father, and Captain Drachma on the bridge. Vyse broke the silence.  
  
“Sorry we weren’t faster,” he told his father sheepishly.  
  
Dyne turned from his position at the fore-window and laughed. It was a tired thing marred by Valuan mistreatment which also rippled with delight. “You sail across the ocean, sneak into the heart of the Empire, break into the Valuan coliseum and keep my head from rolling, break through the Grand Fortress defenses… and you want to apologize?”  
  
Vyse shrugged. “We had some hiccups on the way,” he said. “You paid the price for that.”  
  
His father looked at him seriously. “You understand what you just did?”  
  
The young rogue hesitated. “Any one of the crew would have done it for you…”  
  
“Yeah, but not everyone could have pulled it off,” his father retorted. “You did, and what you _did_ was something that’s never been done before. Least of all by some bratty kid pirate.”  
  
“Hey! I’m seventeen.”  
  
Drachma grunted behind them. The old man sat on a large crate. He’d turned the bridge into his sanctuary ever since the _Little Jack_ became a pirate’s ark. “That makes ye damn’d kid.”

“What was I supposed to do? Let them kill you all? Let them keep Fina locked up?”  
  
Dyne sighed. “Not the point,” he said. “Just… trying to put some thing into perspective. Because I don’t know what happens next but it doesn’t end here. They could follow us back home, and damn sure they’re gonna be gunning for you and tryin’ to get that girl back.”  
  
Vyse shrugged again. “So? We’ll deal with it.”  
  
Drachma scoffed. “Oh, aye. Deal with it,” he taunted. “Well, best ye do it off me damned ship. I’m a fisherman, not some cruise-captain. ‘An Rhaknam’s out there what now there’s a harpoon with his name on it.”  
  
“Dunno if I’ve really thanked you,” Dyne said to Drachma. “It’s no small thing you did either. Helping my son like that.”  
  
The fisherman rolled his eyes. “I got me own business,’ he insisted. “What so happened the tool I needed were in Valua. Nothin’ more to it than that.”  
  
Vyse also rolled his eyes too although Drachma couldn’t see it. “C’mon. Don’t tell me you didn’t have a little bit of fun smacking Valuans about.”  
  
“All’s I know, boy,” the old man started. “Is that iff’n ye muck about at that helm or toss some sentiment at me, the fun I’ll have is smackin’ yer head.”  
  
Dyne chuckled though the sound of approaching footsteps on the stairs cut any reply short. Light steps with jaunty ones at their side. “Might want to hold off on bustin’ Vyse’s noggin,” a playful voice suggested.  
  
It was Aika, walking up the stairs with Fina at her side. The blonde woman looked somewhat tired but far more refreshed from her exhausted state. She smiled at the assembled group, as did Aika.  
  
“I...cannot thank you all enough,” Fina said, her voice honey-sweet in spite of her tiredness. “I thought I’d be their prisoner forever.”  
  
Vyse grinned at the helm. “Don’t worry about it,” he said playfully. “The Valuans went through a lot of trouble to get you, and we just really like pissing them off. It was fun.”  
  
Fina paused. “Oh, I thought..”  
  
Aika gave the woman the lightest ribbing. “He’s joking, Fina,” she explained. “You’re our friend and we’d do anything for our friends. Including some epic heroism. Though I guess we could have stayed a little longer… Maybe grabbed some more loot?”  
  
“Ya morons barely made it outta there,” Drachma said. “Lest ye forget ‘an start actin’ cocksome.”  
  
Aika extended her arms. “It’s an Air Pirate’s duty to liberate as much loot as possible.”  
  
There were some spare chuckles, save for Drachma’s surly stoicism, until Dyne regarded Fina’ carefully. “You didn’t just come up here to thank Vyse,” he noted.  
  
Fina nodded, her face shifting into a mix of soft seriousness and some nerves. 

“No,” she said. “After all this… After all you’ve endured because of me… It’s time you know the truth. It’s time you know why I’m here and what my mission is..”

* * *

It was the second time in so many weeks that Fina found herself standing before a ship’s captain and her friends. Vyse and the others, including his father, had left the bridge and adjourned to the _Little Jack_ ’s deck—Briggs had managed to convince Drachma that he could helm the _Little Jack_ for the duration of their meeting—and were looking at Fina with excitement and curiosity. The light of the Silver Moon drifted down on them, framing Fina with a particular focus. Up above, in the crow’s nest, Luke’s faint snoring could be heard but other than that, the stage was perfectly set for revelations. Their lives had been thrown into chaos ever since she’d arrived and the Valuans went to all extremes to capture her. Now it was time to know why..  
  
Of course, Fina was no expert in talking to so many people at once. It was hardly some grand speech like those she’d read about in the history archives but there was something undeniably odd about having peoples’ complete and undivided attention. She shifted nervously in place, her hand moving to stroke the silver bracelet on her wrist.  
  
“I apologize,” she said. “First for the trouble that I’ve caused you and for… well, I feel strange. The Elders told me that I was not allowed to utter a word of my mission to anyone but you have done me such kindness that I.. I vowed but...”  
  
She pushed onwards to make an admission. Ramirez’ voice played at the back of her mind: _Foolish, shortsighted, arrogant._ That’s what he’d called the Elders, and for the first time in her life a stirring of rebellion snaked into Fina’s heart.  
  
“They are wrong,” she said. “At least in this matter. You have helped me, given me shelter, and suffered greatly for it… You deserve an explanation.”  
  
Vyse looked at her seriously. “Only if that’s what you want,” he said. “You don’t owe us anything, Fina. And breaking a vow isn’t something small.”  
  
“I definitely wouldn’t mind knowing what’s up though,” Aika said to his side. Not pushy but undeniably curious. “Because there’s something about you…”  
  
Dyne spoke up. “You’re one of _them_ ,” he said seriously. “Somehow. Or at least have their knowledge…”  
  
Aika looked at Dyne. “What are you talking about?”  
  
Fina nodded. “That’s correct,” she said. “I am a Silvite, a descendant of the Silver Civilization.”  
  
Dyne sucked in some air. “Hardly seems possible.”  
  
“Hold on,” Vyse said, looking from his dad and back to Fina. “Silver Civilization.”  
  
Fina took a breath and nodded. “You call it the Old World,” she said. “An old time. An ancient time where the world’s population was split into six different civilizations. One existed under each of the Moons in the sky... Green, Red, Blue, Purple, Yellow, and Silver..”

A realization dawned on Aika. “When we were in Valua, Marco mentioned that the catacombs had something to do with folks called Fulmarians…”  
  
“They were the people who lived under the Yellow Moon,” Fina answered. “Their civilization thrived thanks to automated beings not unlike that of my own people. Powered by electricity and yellow magicks. Many of them lived underground in a glowing city. The Valuans follow in their footsteps with their machines but with less… refinement.”  
  
She paused. “That’s as good a word for it too,” she said. “The world was refined, each civilization harnessing the power of its moon and their moonstones to create all sorts of wonders. Medicines that completely eliminated diseases, libraries compiled into something so small you could carry it in your pocket. Messages that could be sent across the skies in an instant…”  
  
Fina sighed, brushing a strand of silver-blonde hair from her face. Where her voice held wonder, it shifted to sadness and regret. A pain that was far older than she was, ingrained into her by her Elders and their own knowledge of the world that was.  
  
“Technology moved faster than man’s hearts,” she explained. “The civilizations grew arrogant, their leaders feeling more and more like gods. Like your Valuans, they started to crave power. There was a war… and in their desperation to dominate, each civilization created a weapon of unimaginable power: a Gigas. Living weapons that could destroy islands and rend the lands asunder.”  
  
Aika spoke up. “I actually know this,” she said with some surprise. “Granny Hofman’s told stories about Old World monsters. There was some type of bird, a giant man..”  
  
Vyse narrowed his eyes at Fina. “We always thought those were just… well, folklore and fairy tales. Knights fighting giants or a bird flying so fast it left sky rifts wherever it went. You’re telling me that all those tall tales and stories are true?”  
  
“Very true,” Fina said darkly. “The war tore continents apart, raging and breaking a world that used to be connected until finally… something happened: the Rains of Destruction fell.”  
  
Drachma finally broke his silence. Even the old man had found himself caught up in the woman’s story. “Rain ‘o Destruction? Make it sound like fire from th’sky”  
  
“It was,” Fina said. “No one knows what caused it but moonstones began to fall from every moon at once. Thousands upon thousands crashing into the world below, each of them creating an explosion bigger than any of your cannons or other weapons. Millions died in an instant; cities became little more than craters. It was as if the Moons themselves were trying to make sure their powers couldn’t be so terribly misused.”  
  
Dyne raised an eyebrow. “But you said it yourself: you’re a member of the Silver Civilization.”  
  
“Most died,” Fina said. “Some avoided the Rains. We live on an… island high above the rest of your world. There’s very few of us left. Two of us were sent down here: myself and my companion Rami. Our duty was to collect what we call the Moon Crystals. Concentrated moonstones that can awaken the Gigas and allow those who hold them to control the beasts…”  
  
Vyse started to put it together. “The Valuans are after you because they want to find them too. To use the Gigas and hold the world by the throat. How do they even know about the crystals?”  
  
“Rami told them,” Fina said. Her voice dripped with pain. “He has joined their ranks. Serving the Lord Admiral under a new name: Ramirez.”  
  
Aika gasped. “That warrior on the train! The one that attacked Vyse!”  
  
Fina nodded. “That was him, yes.”  
  
“Ramirez,” Dyne repeated the name. “There was someone by that name years ago who supposedly killed the previous Lord Admiral. A man named Mendoza.”  
  
“That’s what the prince told me,” Fina said.  
  
“The prince?” Vyse looked at Fina with surprise. “Some snooty pretty boy Valuan?”  
  
“Not quite,” Fina offered. “He was kind and worried about his country obtaining the Moon Crystals. I asked for his help but he… It hardly matters now…”  
  
She fixed her gaze upon Vyse. “You’ve done so much for me Vyse, and you as well Aika. I would like you to go with me on my quest. Help me travel the world in search of the Crystals. Please! I don’t want to think of what could happen if Valua gets the crystals.”  
  
History hinges on small moments. This was one of them, although Vyse didn’t realize it. Instead, all he heard was a chance for an adventure and the begging of a friend in need of help. The young rogue didn’t need to think about it. There was not even a moment’s hesitation as he took a step forward and nodded.  
  
“Leave everything to us! We'll go with you and find those Crystals! If any trouble comes our way, we’ll face it together!”  
  
Fina's face, which had been a shifting portrait of worry and seriousness throughout her explanation blossomed into a marvelous smile. From the moment she’d seen the pair in the coliseum… No, from the time she’d awoken to find them at her bedside.. She hoped that they might join her.  
  
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”  
  
Aika grinned. “This is our chance to see what’s beyond the sunset and more,” she said with a cat’s-grin. “Probably find a few trinkets here and there too. Fina, where you go we go. Together.”  
  
Dyne chuckled. “Three young and wonderful foolish heroes on a grand adventure,” he noted. “Any Blue Rogue worth his salt would want that.”  
  
Vyse looked at his father. “You approve? Just like that?”  
  
“Hell, I’d help if I didn’t need to tend to the crew and our home,” he said.  
  
Aika chuckled. “You should leave it to us young folks anyway,” she teased. “Wouldn’t want to hurt your knees or whatever, old-timer.”  
  
 _Meep! Pwoooo!! Cuuuueeee!_ _  
__  
_Drachma gave a grunt, turning to look about his room. “The blazes is that shite?”  
  
Fina giggled. “Oh, that was my friend,” she said before looking at the bracelet on her wrist. “It’s okay. You can come out now.”  
  
It was the strangest thing Vyse had ever seen. The silver bracelet on Fina’s arm seemed to melt into a shimmering liquid that slid off and glided upwards into the air where it began to expand like a balloon, growing into a rotund creature with a small, flickering tail. It opened its mouth wide.  
  
 _Cue! Cue! Meepil!_ _  
__  
_Aika gasped. “What is that thing? Where did it come from? Oh Moon, it’s adorable!”  
  
Fina gestured at the creature. “This is Cupil,” she said. “He’s been with me since I was a child. He’s a creature from my home called an Argenti. In the Old World, every Silvite had one. A friend, a repository of knowledge, a translator of languages. He can change his shape but he’s usually shaped like a bracelet around my arm..”  
  
“I’m actually too old for this shite,” Drachma muttered. “Here I thought Rhaknam were the damnedest thing I’d ever see…Gigas and argenti and magicksome rains..”  
  
Vyse blinked. “Jimmy said that when the Valuan’s attacked, you had a silver sword at your side.”  
  
Fina nodded. “That was Cupil.”  
  
As if to prove the point, Cupil shifted into a small sword before melting mid-air and then assuming the shape of a star and then shifting again into a wiggling entity almost like a magickal whip.  
  
“I’m not a warrior,” Fina said. “But Cupil helps keep me safe.”  
  
 _Cue! Cue!_ _  
__  
_Aika literally squee’d with joy. “He’s amaaazing!”  
  
Cupil drifted over, puffed back into his rotund shape and bounced in front of the young rogue. She reached out and pet him. His silvery skin shifted to a faded purple.  
  
“Woah!”  
  
“He’s probably reacting to one of your moonstones,” Fina offered. “Or even the energy inside you. He’s a creature born from studying the Moons themselves. Easily affected by magick.”  
  
The floating argenti glimmered through various colors: red, blue, green and more. All the colors of the Moons in a quick display of joyous boasting before slinking back to Fina’s wrist.  
  
“It’ll be a long journey,” Vyse noted before looking at his father. “Think mom will be upset?”  
  
Dyne laughed. “Let’s worry about that later. For now, I think it’s time we all rest. By tomorrow morning we’ll be home, and that’ll be one hell of a thing.”  
  
Drachma exhaled. “Fine. Great. Good,” he blurted. “Now clear the deck ‘an dun utter any more fusses, reveals, or other such nonsense t’me. Buncha trouble since I met ya..”  
  
He turned and proceeded inside. The others followed Vyse found his familiar hammock while the girls returned to Aika’s room. Briggs remained at the helm, guiding the _Little Jack_ through the night and onwards to their home.

* * *

There couldn’t have been more excitement on Pirate Isle if Daccat himself had come back from the dead and tossed a bagful of gold at every soul’s feet. The _Little Jack’s_ arrival into the underground port was met an uproarious excitement as families reunited and friends embraced each other. Everyone had been impressed that Vyse and Aika ran off to save everyone from the Valuans but they knew that the chances of seeing Dyne and the others were slim. Well, chances be damned. The impossible had happened; the crew was back and where the world had seemed hopeless, it was suddenly brimming with light.

For a long time, heroes were a thing found in stories. Not anymore. As Vyse strolled down the gangplank with his father in tow, a cheer filled port unlike any other. This wasn’t some mere raid full of booty to split up and stories to tell—It was a miracle. Vyse and Aika had left with nothing but some grit and returned with everyone’s lives. Not a soul lost to the Valuans. If it wasn’t for the lingering wounds and only partially-rebuilt village aboveground, it was like nothing had ever happened at all. Drachma watched it for a moment from the _Little Jack_ ’s deck before turning back and walking inside. It wasn’t his moment, these weren’t his people, and the ship needed plenty of inspection after everything. One loose bolt could spell an end against Rhaknam.  
  
The moment belonged to Vyse but perhaps the most dramatic display went to his father. Face still marred with cuts and bruises, his own gait heavy from days of mistreatment, Victor Dyne somehow managed to cut his way through the crowd to find his wife waiting for him with a wide smile and tears of joy falling down her face. He made straight for her, dipped her down, and kissed her as deeply as the night they’d been married. Another cheer rang throughout the port.  
  
“Hey, Jo,” he whispered quietly to his wife. He pulled her upwards into an embrace.  
  
“You’re so _stupid_ ,” she said, hitting his chest lightly. “Had to do the brave thing, didn’t you? Turning yourself over like that?”  
  
Dyne grinned wickedly. “Yeah, and don’t you love it?”  
  
“He was always coming back,” a voice spoke up at their side. Vyse, Aika, and Fina had made their way over. The young man beamed at his mother. “I said I would save him, right?”  
  
Johanna Dyne laughed, even as her happiness threatened to bring more tears. “That you did.”  
  
Aika laughed. “We kicked so much Valuan butt that I think they actually ran out of butts. That’s it: none left. We kicked them all!”  
  
“I don’t doubt it,” Johanna said before looking towards Fina. “Welcome home, dear.”  
  
Fina paused. It was a strange word to hear all things considered. Her home was far away from here and yet Vyse’s mom had cut to the heart of the matter. Pirate Isle felt like a home. She felt safe here, welcome. Somehow she’d become part of a community.  
  
“Vyse! Vyse! Aika! Miss Fina!”  
  
Jimmy, Alan, and Lindsi scampered over with abandon, faces etched with awe as they looked at the older trio. They began to pull and tug, asking questions like: “Is it true you beat up the Empress?” and “Miss Fina, did you escape using your magic?”  
  
Lindsi moved away from her louder friends and smiled at Vyse. “You did it,” she said with wonder.  
  
“I promised you,” Vyse said, ruffling her hair a little bit. To the side, as if to create some space, Fina promised to tell JImmy and Alan all about Valua before introducing them to a friend: Cupil. He slithered off her wrist and puffed up with a _cuuuueeeee!_ before speeding off into the port. The children chased after him immediately, even Lindsi, slipping and snaking through the crowd in search of their new silvery playmate. More than a few confused glances drifted Cupil’s way as pirates and cutthroats realized there was _something_ among them but the time had long passed for questioning what could and could not be. If there was a silver blob flying around now? It garnered curiosity but most people were craving warm beds and good food first.  
  
Vyse looked at Fina. “Is he gonna be alright alone? Those little devils aren’t gonna slow down.”  
  
The mage giggled. “Cupil’s been on my wrist for weeks,” she said. “I think he’ll appreciate the chance to explore.”  
  
Aika watched as the blob flew off. “A friend at your side always,” she noted. “Makes it hard to get lonely, I imagine.”  
  
Fina hesitated. “You’d think so,” she managed to say with a sigh. “Now, I don’t know when we can leave or how but I should do some planning. Decide how best to start the… _our_ journey.”  
  
“Journey?” Johanna narrowed her eyes at the trio. “You just got here! Wherever could you need to go?”  
  
Dyne looked at his wife. “Johanna, we should have a chat. There’s plenty you should hear…”  
  
“But first, Victor, maybe a check-in with a doctor?” A fresh voice, an unfamiliar voice.  
  
The group turned. A tall man with dark skin, a clean-shaved head and a friendly face ambled over. He wore a white doctor’s coat with a blue ensemble underneath but his professional look was undercut slightly by the tattered sandals on his feet. He must have been in his mid thirties; younger than Dyne but the smile on his face bridged the age gap in their clear friendship. Dyne did a double take.  
  
“Jaime? Is that really you?”  
  
“In the flesh,” the man said before looking at the pirate more deliberately. “You look terrible.”  
  
“Little vacation in the homeland,” Dyne said. “What are you doing here?”  
  
Vyse looked at his father. “You two know each other?”  
  
Dyne nodded at his son. “ This is Jaime Ortega. We served together in the Armada years ago,” he said. “Both in the Second Fleet. He was the ship’s doctor. Then he ran off to a cushy new position..”  
  
“And you literally ran off to become a pirate,” Ortega countered. “And please, ‘Doc” is fine. No one calls me anything else these days.”  
  
“You haven’t answered my question, _Jaime_ .”  
  
The doctor nodded seriously. “I’ve been traveling,” he said. “And when I heard about an attack on the island here, I changed course to offer my services. Figured there’d be some wounded. I did what I could. Was about to ship off today but it looks like I got a fresh load of work to do with all you sorry folks showing up.”  
  
Dyne smiled. 

“Well, Doc, you’re welcome here as long as you want,” he said. “A quick look over and maybe some loqua but then I’d appreciate it if you focus on my crew.”  
  
There was a swish of motion behind Doc as someone peeked out from behind his coat. A young girl, perhaps a little older than Lindsi, peered at the group. Her corn-blonde hair was pulled into perfectly-coifed pigtails that were far more refined than one might expect from a child. She wore a fine black and white dress, a somewhat mis-matched look considering her guardian’s more casual attire. Wide blue eyes gazed at the group with muted curiosity. A small, round hamachou chick sat in her hands.  
  
Fina smiled and leaned down. “Hello there,” she said. Her voice filled with even more kindness than usual. “You don’t need to hide back there. Everyone here’s very nice.”  
  
Dyne looked at Doc with some concern. “Is that..”  
  
“This is Maria,” Doc said firmly. “And her little friend there is Piccolo. I’ve been acting as her guardian for some time now.” His eyes turned to Dyne. “Ever since the _Aquila_ .”  
  
That caught even Vyse’s attention. He looked to Aika, who also bore surprise on her face. “That’s the first ship we boarded,” he said. “All those years ago. The rescue…”  
  
Aika looked to Doc. “You were there? Was _she_ ?”  
  
Dyne held up a hand. “We can talk about this later,” he said. “For now, we should take time to enjoy the fact that we’re back. Jaime, why don’t you join me in my office? Aika, would you mind grabbing a bottle of loqua for us?”  
  
The redhead rolled her eyes. “So I get to do the grunt work?”  
  
Dyne sighed. “Please..”  
  
“Sure thing,” Aika offered warmly before looking at Maria. “And maybe this brave soul could help me on my quest? Unless she wants to find Jimmy and the others..”  
  
Doc shook his head. “Maria… Doesn’t really play with other children,” he said sadly before looking at the girl. “But what do you think? Could you help this brave pirate with her mission?”  
  
Maria paused, unsure and shifting backwards but then Piccolo gave a little cheep. Her demeanor shifted. The smallest twitch on her face that might have been a smile. She nodded, walking to Aika’s side.  
  
Aika smiled at the girl and her bird. “I feel safer already,” she said chipperly.  
  
Vyse looked to Fina. “Let’s gather some maps and a few other things,” he said. “See what we can start to figure out.”  
  
Fina nodded. “There’s so many variables,” she noted. “But I think the closest destination would be under the Red Moon..”  
  
“You can explain to me what is even going on anymore,” Johanna Dyne said to her husband. “While this doctor makes sure you’re not going to suddenly keel over.”  
  
Aika held up a finger of her own. “In the meantime, Maria and I will heroically gather some loqua. Moons know that we’ve earned a drink or two..”

* * *

Luke wandered into the underground port’s makeshift tavern. It was more of an extra cave with a few tables and a bar than anything special. After most raids, the tavern brimmed with boasts and booze, as the _Albatross_ ’ crew recalled their fights and told increasingly tall tales about the threats they’d faced with Aika usually managing to craft the tallest. Today was a day for celebration but it was also a day of recovery. While the rest of the crew tended to their families or else just took a few moments to breathe free air again, Luke had snuck off without much warning and made his way towards the tavern.  
  
It wasn't the drink he was after. Something far more important was waiting for him. Mabel was seated at their usual table at the back of the cave, a tall bottle loqua before her and two mugs waiting. He hadn’t seen her at the dock and while his immediate reaction had been to fear that she’d somehow relapsed after Fina’s magical healing of her wounds earned on the _Cygnus_ , that fear melted into a calm surety that she’d be waiting for him. Which she was. Right at the table they’d drank at for years. Her brown hair gleamed underneath the tavern’s yellow moonstone lights. As he drew closer, and his own features came into view, Luke started to feel more self conscious. The cut he’d sustained in the coliseum had given way to a spectacular scar that slashed upwards across his face. What would Mabel think?  
  
“Don’t say it,” Luke warned. If anything else, he wanted honesty.  
  
“What? That with that big crack up your face, it looks more like an ass than usual?”  
  
Mabel gave him a taunting look. What was he going to do about her teasing? Mope at her?  
  
“I’m serious, May,” Luke said, walking towards the table and sitting across from her. “There’s one person in the world I trust to tell me how bad this thing actually is and it’s you. What’s your take?”  
  
Mabel paused, leaning forward to regard her fellow raider with a dramatic stare. Her brown eyes studied each portion of his face carefully, the sides of her lips pulling into a smile.  
  
“Not bad,” she said finally. “It gives you character. Something you were in desperate need of. What happened? You trip and fall onto some Valuan’s cake-cutting knife?”  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. “Hardly,” he said. “They took us to the coliseum for a public execution.”  
  
“Guy with the axe must have horrible aim,” she teased again. She poured some loqua into one of the mugs and placed it before Luke. “I thought the idea was to chop heads _off_ .”  
  
“Vyse and Aika,” Luke said as an explanation. “Then, the usual story. I play second-fiddle, tangling with some mean Valuan so Dreamer can be the hero. Took maybe three of ‘em and the last cut me fierce. Only survived because some street rat kid popped a _sacres_ crystal.”  
  
“You get to have all the fun,” Mabel said, swigging some loqua.  
  
“Yeah, Valua was a real hoot,” Luke said with a sip of his own. His gaze lowered to look at the table. “So… I’m gonna tell you something and I need you to promise not to snark for one moment in your life.”  
  
“You’re asking for a miracle, bucko.”  
  
Luke looked at his friend again. “I’m serious. Promise.”  
  
Mabel held up her loqua. “I swear I will not snark this _one_ time.”  
  
Luke nodded, taking a minute or so to find the words that were spinning around in his heart. “When we were there,” he started. “When we were all locked up and starving and beaten up, and when they were taking us to be executed… I felt… calm.”  
  
Mabel raised an eyebrow. “How’d ya figure that?”  
  
“Because,” Luke continued, fixing his eyes on her. “I told myself: well, at least May’s gonna be okay. See, I didn’t mind sitting there waiting for my head to roll because there was this part of me that was fine with it because _you_ were safe.”  
  
The woman lowered her loqua, face turning red. “That’s…. stupid. Because I was stuck here thinkin’ I’d never get to see your ass-face again.”  
  
Luke chuckled. “Yeah. I’m sorry…”  
  
A moment held on the air before Mabel stood up, walked over the table and sat down beside Luke. “You know, I think it’s about time we’re honest with each other. Seeing as we’ve twice-over nearly lost at least one of our lives lately…”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
Mabel smiled. “I mean you know I’d do anything for you right?”  
  
Luke blinked. “Well, yeah. That’s obvious.”  
  
The woman gestured expectantly with her free hand. “Right but… you understand what I’m saying, right?”  
  
The red-hair man paused. He felt a heat within his chest. “May, I… I mean… We both know that…”  
  
Mabel held a finger to Luke’s lips, shutting him up instantly. “But we never said it,” she interrupted. “For years now, I’ve jumped into danger and you’ve always been at my side. Always. And yeah, that’s the job. We work in pairs. That’s how the system works but… I know it’s more than that. And you do too..”  
  
Luke took a breath. “May, I just.. I guess I always worried that saying it would..”  
  
“What? Make me happy? How dare you.”  
  
He shook his head. “No,” he replied. “I thought it would jinx it. Like maybe I’d say it and you’d not feel that either.”  
  
Mabel took another sip of loqua and slammed the mug down on the table. “Now’s your chance, sailor. Give it a try. See what happens.”  
  
The pirate froze, all wind taken from his sails. Not because he was nervous to say it, although that was certainly true, but because Mabel had never talked to him so seriously before. A mix of looseness and yearning that congealed into something undeniably real and urgent. She wanted him to say it.  
  
Luke did. He looked her right in the eyes and spoke those magic words: “I love you, May.”  
  
“I love _you_ ,” came the reply. Suddenly, all of his pains and worries were gone. Without even a moment of thought, he leaned in and kissed her, pulling his fellow pirate in tightly. Then, he pulled back slowly, returning for something lighter. They looked at each other.  
  
“So what now?”  
  
“I got some ideas,” Mabel said suggestively.  
  
“No, I mean… what now? We’re a crew without a ship, fugitives from Valua even more than before… and..”  
  
Mabel paused. “And what?”  
  
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I was sleepin’ in the crow’s nest of that there ship last night and heard Fina talking to the others,” he explained. “She’s gonna leave with Vyse and Aika on some quest to find, uh… and I’m not kidding.. magick’d stones that control giant monsters. Says Valua’s after them.”  
  
Mabel seemed to take the news in stride. Maybe it was that she’d come to accept that strange and improbable things surrounded Fina, or maybe she just trusted Luke _that_ much. Either way she nodded.  
  
“You think we ask about going with them? Sounds like they’d need good swords..”  
  
Luke hesitated. “I’m roughed up still,” he noted before nodding at Mabel. “You got a sword to the gut not so long ago.And you’re gonna tell me you feel right as rain?”  
  
Reality fluttered across Mabel’s face. “Not quite,” she said. “So, what? We let them sail off?”  
  
Luke shrugged. “For now, sure,” he said. “Because like you said… I can _also_ think of a few things we should take care of in the meantime.”  
  
He leaned in and kissed her deeply, pulling her over towards the the table an-  
  
“Woah! We, uh… interrupting something here fellas?”  
  
Aika stood near the door, a small blonde girl at her side. The redhead quickly moved her hands to shield the girl’s eyes. Luke and Mabel shot upwards. “I can come back some other time,” Aika said. “Was just trying to grab some loqua for the captain.”  
  
Mabel laughed an uproarious cackle that filled the tavern before she finally managed to stop.  
  
“Moons, no. It’s fine. Dig around and find your poison,” she said. “But hey, you should know that Luke says he loooooooves me.”  
  
The man shifted nervously in place. “Mabel….”  
  
Aika laughed, walking around to the bar and looking through the bottles. “Is that so? I couldn’t tell!”  
  
Mabel laughed again. “He was all dramatic too,” she said before putting on a mock-Luke voice. A half-pitch down, a hint of gravel. “Oh May, how could you love me? With a scar!”  
  
“It wasn’t like that at all!” Luke’s protests fell upon the first person he could find: Maria. The young girl looked at him with no expression, seemingly unaffected by anything around her.  
  
Aika shrugged behind the counter. “It’s not a big deal,” she said absent-mindedly, looking for one of the fancier bottles they’d taken from Alfonso’s ship. “Vyse has a scar and I still love him.”  
  
Aika froze in place, standing up as she realized what she’d said. Luke and Mabel looked at her with jester’s grins. Maria stood unchanged but Piccolo gave out a small cheeping. Trying to recover, Aika fussed about until she found a decent enough bottle of loqua. No need to find the best stuff anymore. She wanted to leave the room as fast as possible.  
  
“ _Loooooooooove!_ ” Luke and Mabel tittered the word towards Aika, who’d turned as red as the loqua in the bottle.  
  
“I meant.. I just mean that he was my friend before and…”  
  
Mabel chuckled. “Oh, no no no. Not today, Spitfire,” she teased. “Everyone in the room heard you! The friggin’ _bird_ heard you say it! You love him!”  
  
Aika spun about, arms flailing fruitlessly as if they could deflect Mabel’s mockery. “He’s my _best_ friend,” she said earnestly. “Of course I care about him.”  
  
“Luke’s my best friend,” Mabel sniped back. “And I was about to show him just _exactly_ how much I care about him.”  
  
The other raider stifled his own giggling. “I think what May is trying to say,” Luke offered diplomatically. “Is that it’s okay to be honest about what you mean when you use that word..”

“I am being honest!” Aika’s protest only made her seem more and more like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. Underneath it all, she felt a fluttering in her heart. An all too real desire and sudden jealousy for the two pirates before her that proved their point—Even if she wouldn’t admit it.  
  
“Sure,” Mabel said, unconvinced. “Spitfire and Dreamer, attached at the hip and finishing each other’s sentences. Just really good friends with nothing else going on at all. You’ve never even once just looked at Vyse with his shirt off on a hot day and…”  
  
An empty cup sailed across the room and bonked Mabel in the head. Aika pointed a finger.  
  
“Nope! Nope! I am not doing this,” she said, walking out from behind the bar and back to Maria. “Just gonna take this and check in on the captain, thank you both very much!”  
  
She hurried to the door with Maria following wordlessly at her heels. Behind her, Aika heard Mabel call out once more.  
  
“Can’t run forever, kid!”  
  
Maybe not. But she was certainly gonna try.

* * *

“We’re really plotting a journey to whatever’s underneath each Moon?”  
  
Vyse asked the question with unabashed excitement, sitting on the bench atop the isle’s high lookout. It wasn’t the end of the day but it was by far the quietest place on the island at the moment. While the village was not nearly close to being fully repaired, enough aid had come from nearby settlements to rebuild it into something passable. A few of the old crew had joined in the day’s work of rebuilding homes, hammers and other implements percussing through the air. If Vyse and Fina wanted to get anything done, it needed to be with some privacy. That left somewhere in the port or the lookout.  
  
It was better to be up here, he’d decided. To have the blue sky before him. The sky he was about to sail about in the ways he’d always dreamt. Fina sat further down the bench. Having sprawled some maps between them, she’d started to figure out some of the logistics—aided by Vyse’s understanding of wind currents and other sailing factors—of their journey and where to start finding the Moon Crystals.  
  
“We must,” Fina said plainly. Her finger moved around what limited space the world map offered. So much of it was blank. “That’s where each civilization was, so that’s where the Moon Crystal will be. There’s only one problem…”  
  
“Most of what’s left is Meridia, Valuan, or Nasr,” Vyse noted. “You say the Green Moon is westward and the Blue Moon is to the east but there’s no way we can get there. The sky’s packed with rifts and rock shoals.”  
  
“My ship was the solution to that problem,” Fina said plainly. “The hull was ablative silvinium. Supposed to stand up to anything in my way. Your sky rifts would have posed no problem.”  
  
“You’re serious? I only caught a glimpse of it by the time we’d reached the _Cygnus_ but that little thing was going to bust you through sky rifts?”  
  
Fina nodded. “We call them Invictas,” she explained. “Scout ships. The armor made to hold firm against rifts and winds, the engines stronger than anything your people have managed..”  
  
Vyse chuckled. “I’ve seen some damn fast ships,” he said. “Still, it’s a huge problem. We don’t even have a ship of our own really..”  
  
“What about Mister Drachma?” Fina’s question was an innocent one. “He helped before, and if that ship… the _Little Jack_ … has that cannon on the front, with the moonstone weave? Well…”  
  
“It’d break through most rifts easy,” Vyse realized. “Other things too. But he’s…. Well, I dunno.”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Vyse sighed, kicking his legs idly. “He’s only focused on that arcwhale,” he said. “I don’t think he cares a spit about Valua or the Moon Crystals. Still, I guess we could ask but we can’t assume much..”  
  
Fina looked at the map, thinking. Cupil, having fled the pokes and prods of the island’s child population some time ago, drifted by her side. _Cueeee…._ _  
__  
_The Silvite’s finger trailed about the map. Vyse watched it but idly brought up his journal and pencil; Cupil was perfectly posed for a sketch. He began to scribble the creature’s semblance into his notebook. The blob seemed to notice, taking something of a more pronounced pose and turning even more rotund.  
  
“We shouldn’t head back to Valua,” Vyse said. “Which means…”  
  
“The Red Moon,” Fina finished. “We’d go there. There’s no need to hunt here; the Silver Moon Crystal is safe with my people. So, we head….” Her hand found Nasr on the map. “Here.”  
  
Vyse regarded Cupil and then his sketch. It was a hasty drawing but the resemblance was strong. He took a few notes including a small reminder to ask Fina more about her ship some other time but his gaze drifted from Cupil and over to his master. Fina’s hair fluttered in the wind just right, each strand rippling perfectly. She was small, he seemed to notice, and his mind thought about how she’d looked on the train in Valua. Helpless and very alone.  
  
The young woman seemed to notice his staring. She looked back at him. “What is it? Do you not agree?”  
  
Vyse shook his head. “It’s not that,” he assured her. “But I was thinking.. We’re bound to run into trouble on this journey. Probably even more Valuans or your old friend who gave me that cut on the train. How much do you know about fighting?”  
  
Fina hesitated. “I was trained as a priestess,” she said shyly. “Taught our history and magicks. Rami was the one trained as a warrior; he was meant to be my companion and protector here once I arrived. But I am not helpless..”  
  
She brought her hand up. Fire flared in her palm before it shifted and crackled into lightning and then dissipated into a globe of water that she let drift off into the sky.  
  
“My people’s understanding of magic is advanced,” she explained. “I don’t need to use moonstones to cast spells like you or Aika might.”  
  
Vyse stood up and walked away from the bench. “Stand up,” he told Fina. “Square up against me like I’m some nasty Valuan soldier. Like however you did when you were with Jimmy and the Valuans attacked.”  
  
Fina raised an eyebrow. “Okay… I suppose I could do that..”  
  
The Silvite stood up and brushed off her skirt before taking a position before Vyse. She held a palm forward, the glow of red magicks lighting it ever so slightly. At her side, Cupil shifted into a small blade that stood at the ready to strike. It was a confidently held pose but it was just that… a pose. Vyse could see the ways in which he could sweep her legs or else easily take advantage of her lack of experience.  
  
“Not bad,” he offered. Fina smiled. “But..”  
  
He rushed toward her position, bridging the gap in an instant. The young rogue slipped under her extended arm and stepped inwards. A free hand pulled her palm down and drew her in close to him. He had all the leverage he wanted, if he wanted. 

“If you’re gonna be in a fight, you need to always be ready..”  
  
“That’s not really fair,” Fina said. “You gave no warning or anything.”  
  
Vyse smiled. “Bad guy’s not gonna play fair,” he said. “He’s gonna just attack. Which means if I was some nasty Valuan I’d have you at my mercy.”  
  
They were close. Like dancers on the floor. Fina smiled but it held a surprisingly playfulness. A different side of her that he’d not seen before. “Not quite,” she noted.  
  
 _Cuuueee…_  
  
Vyse felt a tiny needle’s prick at the back of his neck. Cupil, still in his sword form, hovered behind him, the “point” of his blade ready to act if needed. Vyse chuckled.  
  
“Are you controlling him or does he do whatever he wants?”  
  
“Both,” Fina explained. “He responds to my thoughts but has a basic suite of combat knowledge built into his neural-lattice.”  
  
“His what?”  
  
“It’s like… a… a….”  
  
Fina paused. They were still so very close to each other weren’t they? She felt his hand around her own, saw his face only so far in front of her. There was heat. She felt that too, and a stray skim of his mind—unintentional but instinctual—revealed that he was suddenly aware of their physical proximity as well.  
  
“Like…” Vyse was staring at Fina. She was staring at him. He cast a look around her face, eyes darting to the tattoo on her forehead. A circle with a slash falling from the center that resolved into a leftward cut. He’d drawn it before, in his sketching but he didn’t know what it really was. He liked it though. Liked the way it added mystery and charm to her face. Her… beautiful…  
  
He cleared his throat, stepping back. “Sorry, I… was just trying to… You know, see how much you knew about fighting and all that…”  
  
Fina took a step back too. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “I don’t mind.”  
  
Vyse gestured to her forehead. “That marking? What is it?”  
  
Fina’s hand drifted upwards for a moment. “It’s the mark of a priestess,” she explained. “My people’s markings are based upon their role and the guiding virtue that each task requires. This is the mark of wisdom, reserved for priestesses and historians.”  
  
“Make sense,” Vyse said. “Tattoos are a thing around here but it’s mostly just whatever folks fancy. I saw that you had another? On your shoulder?”  
  
She nodded, leaning to show it to him. Another circle with a sort of triangular shape pressing inwards.  
  
“This is the mark given to scouts,” she explained. “It’s the mark of fortitude. Meant to bless me with the strength to carry out my duty now that I’m out in the world.”  
  
Vyse grinned. “I think you’ve got plenty of fortitude,” he said. “Taking on a mission like this. That said… we might want to find time to teach you and Cupil a little more swordplay.”  
  
“Was he not good?”  
  
“He was great,” Vyse said. Cupil meeped in reply. “But even with all your magic and a fancy flying sword, there’s no cure for good practice. Aika and me? We’ll be like Ramirez was supposed to be: we’ll protect you.. But it’s good to be able to look after yourself a little more, right?”  
  
Fina smiled sadly. “You remind me of him,” she said. “Before all this. He was so curious. Like you! He’d brag about how he was going to fly his Invicta through the skies and explore everything.”  
  
Vyse frowned. “And now he’s some Valuan dog…”  
  
“I wish things were so different,” Fina said. “But in spite of all the trouble, I have you and Aika now and that’s…”  
  
“Pretty dang good,” a fresh voice called out. It was Aika doing what she was becoming very good at: walking on other people’s intimate moments. She climbed up from the ladder and looked at the two.  
  
“Got it all figured out?” Her gaze lingered on Vyse just a moment longer than usual.  
  
Fina nodded. “We’ll head for Nasr and the Red Moon,” she said confidently. “After we determine our means of travel.”  
  
Aika smirked. “Bet if we said that dumb whale was that way, the old fart would take us,” she noted before changing to a somewhat more serious tone. “In the meantime, Captain Dyne wants to see us in his office.”  
  
Vyse titled his head. “Really? Figured he’d want a little time to himself.”  
  
“Well, it’s not really him,” Aika explained. “It’s Doc Ortega. He wants to talk with us about something. He says it’s pretty important….”

* * *

Dyne was waiting in his office, feet kicked up on his deck, a glass of loqua in one hand and freshly-lit cigar in the other. The rest of the crew had similarly found drink and other comforts but Dyne had elected to keep largely private company in spite of offers of shared revelry. Smoke listed through the beams of moonstone lamps. The soot seemed to irritate Piccolo, eliciting a cheep from the bird from his perch on Maria’s shoulder. The girl herself had found a small chair in the corner of the room, keeping as far from the pirate captain as possible. Doc Ortega leaned against a nearby bookshelf, regarding the captain with a somewhat annoyed gaze as Vyse, Aika, and Fina slipped into the room.  
  
“You know, as a doctor I can’t rightly condone that habit,” he said with a gesture towards the cigar.  
  
Dyne shrugged. “Doc, you’re in my office… in my port… on my island,” he drawled. “In here? I’m God, and God wants a cigar. Besides, we didn’t invite Vyse and the others here so you could nag at me.”  
  
Doc nodded seriously. “You're right,” he said. “We’re here to unravel a tangled bit of history.”  
  
Vyse narrowed his eyes at the older man. “What are you talking about?”  
  
“The _Aquila_ ,” Dyne said before puffing out some smoke.  
  
Aika blinked. “That was years ago,” she said. “We’re gonna reminisce about some burning Valuan ship?”  
  
Maria shifted in her seat. Piccolo seemed to notice, sidling up on the young girl's shoulder. Her quiet voice carried through the room. “Burning…”  
  
Doc looked to Maria and frowned. She’d been so young and that night had cost her far too much. He turned his gaze back to Vyse and the others. “It’s not that,” he said before looking at Fina. “Captain Dyne’s taken the liberty of… explaining certain things to me..”  
  
“If you considered it a breach of confidence, I apologize,” the captain said. “But I promise it’s important. See, you and Doc here have a shared acquaintance.”  
  
Fina hesitated. That didn’t seem possible. “I’d be very surprised if that was true…”  
  
“Ramirez,” Doc said. “I’m given to understand that he’s a friend of yours.”  
  
The young woman nodded. “He was,” she said, pain etched on her features. “I don’t know what he is to me anymore. He’s so different now..”  
  
Doc nodded knowingly. “I know,” he said. That sent Fina into further surprise. “I’ve seen him at his best. One of the finest soldiers and gentlest souls I’ve ever known.”  
  
“How’s that possible?” Fina stepped towards Doc urgently. “How do you know Rami?”  
  
“Because,” Doc began. “I was there when Valua found him, and we were _all_ there on the night when everything changed…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An interesting chapter. One where a lot of business and exposition needs to happen (though that is an opportunity to flesh out lore!) but also a place where I am free from the breakneck nature of the early plot to find time to rearrange pieces or create extra scenes. That means some fun things can happen.
> 
> For starters, it means we can explore secondary characters a bit more. I've been playing with Luke and Mabel for a while, and this is a chance to pull the trigger explicitly on that pair and set them up for more things down the road. If you've read my recent story 'En Avant,' you've gotten a preview of that. But in terms of moving pieces, this was a chance to integrate Doc more naturally into the story. He just kinda shows up randomly in Legends and it's not very elegant. I felt connecting him more explicitly to Dyne, who I've already been using a lot, made more sense. It also tells us something about his character: there was an island in need of help, so he went and helped. Good for you, Doc!
> 
> I'd been dying to do a proper subtext scene with Vyse and Fina as well; this is as good a place as any since relationships are an undercurrent in the chapter. Now that Cupil is around, we can do a lot of things with him. I was glad to use him as an excuse for a little physical intimacy and I admit, somewhat arrogantly, very happy that he could be used to help Fina outsmart Vyse a little as well. Help that moment end with both on slightly more even footing.
> 
> The next chapter poses a lot of unique challenges. Moving the Aquila flashbacks means giving a lot of crucial information earlier than they have in the game. I'll figure the ramifications of that as we go but I know it affects some of my plans and re-writes. 
> 
> Long notes here and I don't even know if folks find these interesting or not. Yikes! Anyway! I want this next chapter to be done particularly right... and I'm honestly burning myself out a little... so I'm gonna take it a bit slower on this next writing process.


End file.
